.Boston (pronounced /ˈbɒstən/(help·info)) is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States.^Although he’d been busy going over business concerns with Wade, Scott couldn’t help thinking about those letters, especially the ones that he had sent to Boston during the War.

.The largest city in New England, Boston is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

[11].Boston city proper had a 2008 estimated population of 620,535, making it the twenty-first largest in the country.^But having spent the first twenty-four years of his life in Boston, it was difficult for him not to still think of that large Eastern city as his “Home,” as well.

[6].Boston is also the anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area called Greater Boston, home to 4.5 million people and the tenth-largest metropolitan area in the country.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

[8].Greater Boston as a commuting region includes six Massachusetts counties, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth, and Worcester,[12] all of Rhode Island and parts of New Hampshire; it is home to 7.5 million people, making it the fifth-largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States.^He himself had been reborn, and with a renewed faith in the future was already making plans for a life that would include his new wife and their child—--and for the first time he’d begun to contemplate the possibility of Catherine’s boy coming home as well.

Through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the peninsula. After American independence was attained Boston became a major shipping port and manufacturing center,[14] and its rich history now helps attract 16.3 million visitors annually.[15].The city was the site of several firsts, including America's first public school, Boston Latin School (1635),[16] and the first subway system in the United States.^Wed to a professor, Aunt Cee had always been a strong proponent of education and had offered to enroll Teresa in school in Boston if she remained in the city over the winter.

.With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is a center of higher education and a center for medicine.^Wed to a professor, Aunt Cee had always been a strong proponent of education and had offered to enroll Teresa in school in Boston if she remained in the city over the winter.

[18] The city's economy is also based on research, electronics, engineering, finance, and high technology—principally biotechnology.[19].The city has been experiencing gentrification and has one of the highest costs of living in the United States,[20] and it remains high on world livability rankings.^The state of Maine claims the title of “Toothpick Capital of the World,” manufacturing 90% of the toothpicks used in the United States.

The Shawmut Peninsula was connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus and was surrounded by the waters of Massachusetts Bay and the Back Bay, an estuary of the Charles River. .Several prehistoric Native American archaeological sites that were excavated in the city have shown that the peninsula was inhabited as early as 5,000 BC.[22] Boston's early European settlers first called the area Trimountaine, but later renamed the town afterBoston, Lincolnshire, England, from which several prominent colonists had emigrated.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

.Massachusetts Bay Colony's original governor, John Winthrop, gave a famous sermon entitled "A Model of Christian Charity," popularly known as the "City on a Hill" sermon, which espoused the idea that Boston had a special covenant with God.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

(Winthrop also led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, which is regarded as a key founding document of the city.) .Puritan ethics molded a stable and well-structured society in Boston.^More recently, Jim Harper had spoken of the more “civilized” society to be had in Boston, as well as the increased social status that would accompany Scott’s inheritance.

.For example, shortly after Boston's settlement, Puritans founded America's first public school, Boston Latin School (1635).^It was exceptionally loud and her first few nights in Boston, Teresa had found it very difficult to sleep because of it.

[16] Between 1636 and 1698, six major smallpox epidemics in Boston had caused a substantial number of deaths.[23].Boston was the largest town in British North America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

During this period, Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride. After the Revolution, Boston had become one of the world's wealthiest international trading ports because of the city's consolidated seafaring tradition. Exports included rum, fish, salt, and tobacco.[25].During this era, descendants of old Boston families were regarded as the nation's social and cultural elites; they were later dubbed the Boston Brahmins.^Later, both Johnny and Teresa had asked questions about Boston, about his friends and family, about his life there.

.The Embargo Act of 1807, adopted during the Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812 significantly curtailed Boston's harbor activity.^Although he’d been busy going over business concerns with Wade, Scott couldn’t help thinking about those letters, especially the ones that he had sent to Boston during the War.

Although foreign trade returned after these hostilities, Boston's merchants had found alternatives for their capital investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the city's economy, and by the mid-1800s, the city's industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance. .Until the early 1900s, Boston remained one of the nation's largest manufacturing centers and was notable for its garment production and leather-goods industries.^He hadn’t had a good answer then, and when Scott finally asked why he’d never come to Boston to “claim him,” Murdoch still didn’t have one.

[15] A network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region made for easy shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a dense network of railroads facilitated the region's industry and commerce. From the mid-19th to late 19th century, Boston flourished culturally. It became renowned for its rarefied literary culture and lavish artistic patronage. It also became a center of the abolitionist movement.[27] The city reacted strongly to the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850,[28] which contributed to President Franklin Pierce's attempt to make an example of Boston after the Burns Fugitive Slave Case.[29][30]

.In 1822,[31] the citizens of Boston voted to change the official name from "the Town of Boston" to "the City of Boston", and on March 4, 1822, the people of Boston accepted the charter incorporating the City.^The revelation of their final destination would inevitably lead to conversation about people and places in the city of Boston.

[32].At the time Boston was chartered as a city, the population was about 46,226, while the area of the city was only 4.7 square miles (12 km2).^They’d spent some time talking about Scott’s grandfather and Boston, and even touched on his brother’s broken engagement, but there’d only been a little bit of passing conversation about Johnny’s time down in McCall’s Crossing.

[32].In the 1820s, Boston's population began to swell, and the city's ethnic composition changed dramatically with the first wave of European immigrants.^Cecilia Holmes’ late husband Elwood, though related to the Boston Holmes’ and an instructor at Bowdoin College, had been no society swell, but simply a Mainer first and foremost.

Irish immigrants dominated the first wave of newcomers during this period. By 1850, about 35,000 Irish lived in Boston.[33] In the latter half of the 19th century, the city saw increasing numbers of Irish, Germans, Lebanese, Syrians,[34]French Canadians, and Russian and Polish Jews settle in the city. .By the end of the 19th century, Boston's core neighborhoods had become enclaves of ethnically distinct immigrants—Italians inhabited the North End, Irish dominated South Boston and Charlestown, and Russian Jews lived in the West End.^He hadn’t believed her when she’d teasingly told him that was wholly unnecessary, that his own accent had become much more distinct during their time in Boston.

Irish and Italian immigrants brought with them Roman Catholicism. .Currently, Catholics make up Boston's largest religious community,[35] and since the early 20th century, the Irish have played a major role in Boston politics—prominent figures include the Kennedys, Tip O'Neill, and John F. Fitzgerald.^Since she hadn’t been living in Boston at the time, Murdoch had never been introduced to his wife’s aunt, though even after the move to California, Catherine had kept up a correspondence with her.

Between 1631 and 1890, the city tripled its physical size by land reclamation—by filling in marshes, mud flats, and gaps between wharves along the waterfront[36] —a process that Walter Muir Whitehill called "cutting down the hills to fill the coves." The largest reclamation efforts took place during the 1800s. .Beginning in 1807, the crown of Beacon Hill was used to fill in a 50-acre (20 ha) mill pond that later became the Haymarket Square area.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

.The present-day State House sits atop this lowered Beacon Hill.^He had to decide very soon whether to join the Hayfords on the westbound train to California or remain for a time in the house on Beacon Hill.

.During the mid-to-late 19th century, workers filled almost 600 acres (2.4 km²) of brackish Charles River marshlands west of the Boston Common with gravel brought by rail from the hills of Needham Heights.^At mid-day, they drove back across the river to Boston to dine at the Parker House.

.By the early and mid-20th century, the city was in decline as factories became old and obsolete, and businesses moved out of the region for cheaper labor elsewhere.^Teresa had wondered if they might not get out and see something of the city, but in the business of settling into the hotel, she’d neglected to ask.

[14] Boston responded by initiating various urban renewal projects under the direction of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), which was established in 1957. In 1958, BRA initiated a project to improve the historic West End neighborhood. Extensive demolition was met with vociferous public opposition.[38] BRA subsequently reevaluated its approach to urban renewal in its future projects, including the construction of Government Center. In 1965, the first Community Health Center in the United States opened, the Columbia Point Health Center, in the Dorchester neighborhood. It mostly served the massive Columbia Point public housing complex adjoining it, which was built in 1953. The health center is still in operation and was rededicated in 1990 as the Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center.[39]

By the 1970s, the city's economy boomed after 30 years of economic downturn. .A large number of high rises were constructed in the Financial District and in Boston's Back Bay during this time period.^Now widowed, Cecilia Holmes continued to spend time at her Maine residence during the summer months, but the rest of the year resided with her brother in Boston.

This boom continued into the mid-1980s and has since begun again. .Boston now has the second largest skyline in the Northeast (after New York) in terms of the number of buildings reaching a height of over 500 feet.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

New construction and proposals in recent years are enlarging the skyline of the city once again. Hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Brigham and Women's Hospital led the nation in medical innovation and patient care. Schools such as Boston University, the Harvard Medical School, Northeastern University, and Boston Conservatory attracted students to the area. Nevertheless, the city experienced conflict starting in 1974 over desegregation busing, which resulted in unrest and violence around public schools throughout the mid-1970s. In 1984, the City of Boston gave control of the Columbia Point public housing complex to a private developer, who redeveloped and revitalized the property from its rundown and dangerous state into an attractive residential mixed-income community called Harbor Point Apartments, which opened in 1988 and was completed by 1990. It was the first federal housing project to be converted to private, mixed-income housing in the United States, and served as a model for the federal HUDHOPE VI public housing revitalization program that began in 1992.[40]

In the early 21st century, the city has become an intellectual, technological, and political center. It has, however, experienced a loss of regional institutions,[42] which included the acquisition of The Boston Globe by The New York Times, and the loss to mergers and acquisitions of local financial institutions such as FleetBoston Financial, which was acquired by Charlotte-based Bank of America in 2004. Boston-based department stores Jordan Marsh and Filene's have both been merged into the New York–based Macy's. Boston has also experienced gentrification in the latter half of the 20th century,[43] with housing prices increasing sharply since the 1990s.[20].Living expenses have risen, and Boston has one of the highest costs of living in the United States,[44] and was ranked the 99th most expensive major city in the world in a 2008 survey of 143 cities.^The state of Maine claims the title of “Toothpick Capital of the World,” manufacturing 90% of the toothpicks used in the United States.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 89.6 square miles (232.1 km²)—48.4 square miles (125.4 km²) (54.0%) of land and 41.2 square miles (106.7 km²) (46.0%) of water. .Boston is the country's fourth most densely populated city that is not a part of a larger city's metropolitan area.^But for the most part, it was almost as if the trip to Boston hadn’t taken place.

.The Charles River separates Boston proper from Cambridge, Watertown, and the neighborhood of Charlestown.^They crossed the Charles River into Cambridge, since Scott wanted to show her Harvard College.

[47] The Mystic River separates Charlestown from Chelsea and Everett, and Chelsea Creek and Boston Harbor separate East Boston from Boston proper.[48] Boston's official elevation, as measured at Logan International Airport, is 19 ft (5.8 m) above sea level.[49] The highest point in Boston is Bellevue Hill at 330 ft (101 m) above sea level, and the lowest point is at sea level.[50]

Newbury Street, a major thoroughfare and shopping district located in the Back Bay neighborhood

Much of the Back Bay and South End neighborhoods are built on reclaimed land—all of the earth from two of Boston's three original hills, the "trimount," was used as landfill material. Only Beacon Hill—the smallest of the three original hills—remains partially intact; only half of its height was cut down for landfill. The downtown area and immediate surroundings consist mostly of low-rise brick or stone buildings, with many older buildings in the Federal style. .Several of these buildings mix in with modern high-rises, notably in the Financial District, Government Center, the South Boston waterfront, and Back Bay, which includes many prominent landmarks such as the Boston Public Library, Christian Science Center, Copley Square, Newbury Street, and New England's two tallest buildings—the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center.^The site below includes photos of two versions of this motif; the images are of stones in a cemetery in Ohio, but similar examples are commonly seen in New England.

Near the John Hancock Tower is the old John Hancock Building with its prominent weather forecast beacon—the color of the illuminated light gives an indication of weather to come: "steady blue, clear view; flashing blue, clouds are due; steady red, rain ahead; flashing red, snow instead." (In the summer, flashing red indicates instead that a Red Sox game has been rained out.) Smaller commercial areas are interspersed among single-family homes and wooden/brick multi-family row houses. Currently, the South End Historic District remains the largest surviving contiguous Victorian-era neighborhood in the U.S.[52] Along with downtown, the geography of South Boston was particularly impacted by the Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) Project (or the "Big Dig"). The unstable reclaimed land in South Boston posed special problems for the project's tunnels. In the downtown area, the CA/T Project allowed for the removal of the unsightly elevated Central Artery and the incorporation of new green spaces and open areas.

Boston Common, located near the Financial District and Beacon Hill, is the oldest public park in the United States.[54] Along with the adjacent Boston Public Garden, it is part of the Emerald Necklace, a string of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to encircle the city. Jamaica Pond, part of the Emerald Necklace, is the largest body of freshwater in the city. Franklin Park, which is also part of the Emerald Necklace, is the city's largest park and houses the Franklin Park Zoo, recognized in all of New England.[55] Another major park is the Esplanade, located along the banks of the Charles River. The Hatch Shell, an outdoor concert venue, is located adjacent to the Charles River Esplanade. Other parks are scattered throughout the city, with the major parks and beaches located near Castle Island; in Charlestown; and along the Dorchester, South Boston, and East Boston shorelines.

Neighborhoods

.Boston is sometimes called a "city of neighborhoods" because of the profusion of diverse subsections.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

Climate

Boston is located within the northern limit of the humid subtropical climate near the southern limit of the humid continental climate zone, a phenomenon common to coastal southern New England. Summers are typically warm and humid, while winters are cold, windy, and snowy. Prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore affect Boston, minimizing the influence of the Atlantic Ocean.

Boston's skyline in the background, with fall foliage in the foreground

Spring in Boston can be warm, with temperatures as high as the 90s when winds are offshore, although it is just as possible for a day in late May to remain in the lower 40s because of cool ocean waters. The hottest month is July, with an average high of 82 °F (28 °C) and an average low of 65 °F (18 °C), with conditions usually humid. The coldest month is January, with an average high of 36 °F (2 °C) and an average low of 22 °F (−6 °C).[57]

Periods exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) in summer and below 10 °F (−12 °C) in winter are not uncommon but are rarely prolonged. The record high temperature is 104 °F (40 °C), recorded on July 4, 1911. The record low temperature is −30 °F (−34.4 °C), recorded on January 25, 1946.[58]

February in Boston has seen 70 °F (21 °C) only once in recorded history, on February 24, 1985. The highest temperature recorded in March was 89 °F (32 °C), on March 31, 1998.[59]

.Boston's coastal location on the North Atlantic, although it moderates temperatures, also makes the city very prone to Nor'easter weather systems that can produce much snow and rain.^Although he knew he couldn’t thank his friend enough for making the long trip to Boston, Scott still tried.

The city averages about 43 in (1,100 mm) of precipitation a year, with 41 in (100 cm) of snowfall a year.[61]

Snowfall increases dramatically as one goes inland away from the city (Especially north and west of the city)—away from the warming influence of the ocean.[62]

Most snowfall occurs from December through March. .There is usually little or no snow in April and November, and snow is rare in May and October.^Now, Sister,” Miss Louisa interjected, “there’s no need to trouble Mr. Lancer with our silly little malentendu.

Fog is prevalent, particularly in spring and early summer, and the occasional tropical storm or hurricane can threaten the region, especially in early autumn. .Due to its situation along the North Atlantic, the city is often subjected to sea breeze, especially in the late spring, when water temperatures are still quite cold and temperatures at the coast can be ten to twenty degrees colder than a few miles inland, sometimes dropping by that amount near midday.^But there were no mental images to go along with it, and he possessed few details other than a name: Marie Christine.

Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000[6]

According to the 2000 United States Census,[67] there were 589,141 people, 239,528 households, and 115,212 families residing in the city. The population density was 12,166 people per square mile (4,697/km²). .Of major US cities,[68] only New York City, San Francisco and Chicago have a greater population density than Boston.^Teresa had continued to correspond with Melissa even after she had completed her studies in San Francisco and returned to her native Boston.

[69] There were 251,935 housing units at an average density of 5,203 per square mile (2,009/km²). .The 2008 U.S. Census population estimate for the city is 620,535,[6] a 5.3% increase from 2000. During weekdays, the population of Boston can grow during the daytime to about 1.2 million.^So, he’d kept his questions locked inside, his memories too, and hadn’t ever said very much to any of them about what it had been like, growing up in Boston--- except, of course, during the few weeks prior to his grandfather’s ill-fated visit.

.This fluctuation of people is caused by hundreds of thousands of suburban residents who travel to the city for work, education, health care, and special events.^He also resolved to be more attentive; he was supposed to be taking care of her, showing her the city, not dwelling on events long past, circumstances that could never be changed.

In the city, the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 16.2% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.[71] There were 239,528 households, of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 27.4% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.9% were non-families. .37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^Even when Marie Christine was older, what would be the point of telling her that she’d been lied to all those years, if her true parentage had to remain a closely guarded secret?

The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.17.[71]

Per capita income in the Greater Boston area, by U.S. Census block group, 2000. The dashed line shows the boundary of the City of Boston.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,629, and the median income for a family was $44,151. Males had a median income of $37,435 versus $32,421 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,353. 19.5% of the population and 15.3% of families are below the poverty line. Of the total population, 25.6% of those under the age of 18 and 18.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.[72]

Since the 1950s with the advent of white flight the proportion of whites in the city has declined with the city becoming minority-majority in the 2000 Census. Surprisingly, a 2006 Census estimate suggests that this trend may have reversed, with whites again occupying a slight majority.[73][74] The 2005–2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau estimates White American making up 56.3% of Boston's population; of which 50.0% were non-Hispanic whites. .Blacks or African Americans made up 23.5% of Boston's population; of which 22.2% were non-Hispanic blacks.^The Boston African-American National Historic Site: .

American Indians made up 0.4% of the city's population; of which 0.3% were non-Hispanic. Asian Americans made up 8.3% of the city's population. Pacific Islander Americans made up 0.1% of the city's population. .Individuals from some other race made up 8.9% of the city's population; of which 2.1% were non-Hispanic.^He could see his grandfather smiling and lifting a glass as he offered up a toast—in honor of Scott’s birthday or some other special event.

.Individuals from two or more races made up 2.6% of the city's population; of which 1.4% were non-Hispanic.^Her enthusiasm, however, more than made up for her inexperience, and Scott had relished the tutor’s role.

People of Irish descent form the largest single ethnic group in the city, making up 15.8% of the population, followed by Italians, accounting for 8.3% of the population. People of West Indian ancestry are another sizable group, at 6.4%,[77] about half of whom are of Haitian ancestry. .Some neighborhoods, such as Dorchester, have received an influx of people of Vietnamese ancestry in recent decades.^And she was not his sister, although some people seemed to assume that he would regard her as such.

Dialect

The "Boston accent" is widely parodied in the U.S. as the speech of the Kennedys.[80] It is non-rhotic (i.e., drops the "r" sound at the end of syllables unless the next syllable starts with a vowel) and traditionally uses a "broad a" in certain words, so "bath" can sound like "bahth".[81] Boston English has many dialect words, such as "frappe", meaning "milkshake made with ice cream".[82] The accent originated in the non-rhotic speech of 17th century East Anglia and Lincolnshire.[83]

Crime

The city has seen a great reduction in violent crime since the early 1990s. .Boston's low crime rate in the last years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century has been credited to the Boston Police Department's collaboration with neighborhood groups and church parishes to prevent youths from joining gangs, as well as involvement from the United States Attorney and District Attorney's offices.^The Parker House had in recent years become the home of the “Saturday Club” a group of Boston’s brightest intellectual lights, many of them writers, who gathered there on the last Saturday of each month.

.This helped lead in part to what has been touted as the "Boston Miracle". Murders in the city dropped from 152 in 1990 (for a murder rate of 26.5 per 100,000 people) to just 31—not one of them a juvenile—in 1999 (for a murder rate of 5.26 per 100,000).^The revelation of their final destination would inevitably lead to conversation about people and places in the city of Boston.

In the 2000s, however, the annual murder count has fluctuated by as much as 50% compared with the year before, with 60 murders in 2002, followed by just 39 in 2003, 64 in 2004, and 75 in 2005. Although the figures are nowhere near the high-water mark set in 1990, the aberrations in the murder rate have been unsettling for many Bostonians and have prompted discussion over whether the Boston Police Department should reevaluate its approach to fighting crime.[84][85][86]

Economy

Boston's colleges and universities have a major impact on the city and region's economy, with students contributing an estimated $4.8 billion annually to the city's economy.[87].Not only are Boston's schools major employers, but they also attract high-tech industries to the city and surrounding region.^They disembarked on School Street, opposite city hall.

Tourism comprises a large part of Boston's economy. .In 2004, tourists spent $7.9 billion and made the city one of the ten-most-popular tourist locations in the country.^José had spent most of the day in one of the cantinas.

[15] Some of the other important industries are financial services, especially mutual funds and insurance.[15].Boston-based Fidelity Investments helped popularize the mutual fund in the 1980s and has made Boston one of the top financial cities in the United States.^Although he’d been busy going over business concerns with Wade, Scott couldn’t help thinking about those letters, especially the ones that he had sent to Boston during the War.

However, in 2009, the Bayside Expo Center property was lost in a foreclosure on Corcoran-Jennison to a Florida-based real estate firm, LNR/CMAT, who bought it. Soon after, the University of Massachusetts Boston bought the property from them to build future campus facilities.[91][92]

.Because of Boston's status as a state capital and the regional home of federal agencies, law and government are another major component of the city's economy.^Because Grandfather had viewed the European tour as an essential part of Scott’s education, they had visited each of the capitals, as well as many of the major cities, of France, England, Spain, Prussia, Bavaria, Italy and Greece.

.Some of the major companies headquartered within the city are the Liberty Mutual insurance company; Gillette (now owned by Procter & Gamble); New Balance has its headquarters in the city.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

[93].Other major companies are located outside the city, especially along Route 128.^Once outside, he pointed out the City Hall and some of the other buildings nearby as they strolled along the busy street, enjoying the crisp sunshine.

[94] Route 128 serves as the center of the region's high-tech industry. In 2006, Boston and its metropolitan area ranked as the fourth-largest cybercity in the United States with 191,700 high-tech jobs. Only NYC Metro, DC Metro, and Silicon Valley had bigger high-tech sectors.[95] The Port of Boston is a major seaport along the United States' East Coast and is also the oldest continuously operated industrial and fishing port in the Western Hemisphere.[96] Boston is classified as an "incipient global city" by a 2004 study group at Loughborough University in England.[97] A 2008 study ranked Boston among the top 10 cities in the world for a career in finance.[98]

Culture

.Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the non-rhoticEastern New England accent known as Boston English, and a regional cuisine with a large emphasis on seafood, salt, and dairy products.^The route would take them through many large cities, including Chicago and New York.

Bostonians are often considered to have a strong sense of cultural identity, perhaps as a result of its intellectual reputation; much of Boston's culture originates at its universities.[101][102] The city has a number of ornate theatres, including the Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston Opera House, Citi Performing Arts Center, the Colonial Theater, and the Orpheum Theatre. Renowned performing-arts organizations include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Ballet, Boston Early Music Festival, Boston Lyric Opera Company, OperaBoston, and the Handel and Haydn Society (one of the oldest choral companies in the United States).[103] The city is also a major center for contemporary classical music, with a number of performing groups, some of which are associated with the city's conservatories and universities. .There are also many major annual events such as First Night, which occurs on New Year's Eve, the annual Boston Arts Festival at Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, Italian summer feasts in the North End honoring Catholic saints, and several events during the Fourth of July period.^The Parker House had in recent years become the home of the “Saturday Club” a group of Boston’s brightest intellectual lights, many of them writers, who gathered there on the last Saturday of each month.

.Many are found along the Freedom Trail, which is marked by a red line of bricks embedded in the ground.^It felt good to get out and walk around a bit and the grounds of the college were very pretty, with tree-lined walkways and handsome brick buildings.

.The oldest church in Boston is King's Chapel, the city's first Angligan church, founded in 1686 and converted to Unitarianism in 1785. Other notable churches include Christ Church (better known as Old North Church, 1723), the oldest church building in the city, Trinity Church (1733), Park Street Church (1809), First Church in Boston (congregation founded 1630, building raised 1868) and Old South Church (1874).^It was exceptionally loud and her first few nights in Boston, Teresa had found it very difficult to sleep because of it.

Boston has the largest broadcasting market in New England, with the Boston radio market being the eleventh largest in the United States.[110] Several major AM stations include talk radioWRKO 680 AM, sports/talk station WEEI 850 AM, and news radio WBZ 1030 AM. A variety of FMradio formats serve the area, as do NPR stations WBUR and WGBH. .College and university radio stations include WERS (Emerson), WHRB (Harvard), WUMB (UMass Boston), WMBR (M.I.T.), WZBC (Boston College), WMFO (Tufts University), WBRS (Brandeis University), WTBU (Boston University, campus and web only), WRBB (Northeastern University) and WMLN (Curry College).^Their public strolls past the Boston shops, and through the grounds of Harvard College, had been pleasurable as well, connected as they were, with her arm tucked through his.

[113] Boston was also the site of the first game of the first modern World Series, in 1903. The series was played between the AL Champion Boston Americans and the NL champion Pittsburgh Pirates.[114][115] Persistent reports that the team was known in 1903 as the "Boston Pilgrims" appear to be unfounded.[116].Boston's first professional baseball team was the Red Stockings, one of the charter members of the National League in 1871. The team played under that name until 1883, under the name Beaneaters until 1911, and under the name Braves from 1912 until they moved to Milwaukee after the 1952 season.^Scott squeezed her back, before moving away, and placing his fingers under her chin for a moment, lightly lifting until she was looking up into his face again.

.While they have played in suburban Foxborough since 1971, the New England Patriots were founded in 1960 as the Boston Patriots.^Scott found that as they drew nearer to Boston, he was becoming more preoccupied with memories of growing up on Beacon Hill.

Of the four, only Boston College participates in college football at the highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision. Harvard and Northeastern participate in the second-highest level, the Football Championship Subdivision. Boston University does not have a football team. All but Harvard belong to the Hockey East conference; Harvard belongs to the ECAC in hockey. The hockey teams of these four universities meet every year in a four-team tournament known as the "Beanpot Tournament," which is played at the TD Garden over two Monday nights in February.[123]

.One of the best known sporting events in the city is the Boston Marathon, the 26.2 mile (42.2 km) run from Hopkinton to Copley Square in the Back Bay which is the world's oldest annual marathon run.^And, back home in Boston, he had devoted hours to aligning tin soldiers in endless battle formations, and placing the blame squarely on Johnny if any of the men toppled over.

[124].It is run on Patriots' Day in April and always coincides with a Red Sox home baseball game that starts at 11:05 AM, the only MLB game all year to start before noon local time.^My father.”> > Those words evoked very different feelings now than they had only a few years before.

^Although Scott had discussed painful personal subjects with Will many times before, it seemed as if that was all he had been doing lately, engaging in difficult conversations with one person or another.

There are nine district seats, each elected by the residents of that district through plurality voting, and four at-large seats. Each voter casts up to four votes for at-large councilors, with no more than one vote per candidate. The candidates with the four highest vote totals are elected. The president of the city council is elected by the councilors from within themselves. .The school committee for the Boston Public Schools is appointed by the mayor.^A published historian, Nell had led the fight to successfully integrate the performance halls and public schools of Boston and continued to spearhead the efforts to achieve racial equality.

.In addition to city government, numerous commissions and state authorities—including the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Boston Public Health Commission, and the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)—play a role in the life of Bostonians.^After Julie had returned his ring, there’d been a succession of attractive debutantes back in Boston; he’d played the part of gallant escort in public and contented himself with whatever role the young lady in question would allow in private.

Federally, Boston is part of Massachusetts's 8th and 9th congressional districts,[130] represented respectively by Mike Capuano, elected in 1998, and Stephen Lynch, elected in 2001; both are Democrats.

.The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat John Kerry, elected in 1984. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Republican Scott Brown, elected in 2010 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of long-time Democrat Senator Ted Kennedy.^Scott, Murdoch, Johnny---of course all of them had seen her in her robe, many times, but always with a long nightdress worn beneath it, with full sleeves and a high collar.

Education

Boston's reputation as "the Athens of America" derives in large part from the teaching and research activities of more than 100 colleges and universities located in the Greater Boston Area, with more than 250,000 students attending college in Boston and Cambridge alone.[131] Within the city, Boston University exudes a large presence as the city's fourth-largest employer,[132] and maintains a campus along the Charles River on Commonwealth Avenue and its medical campus in the South End. Northeastern University, another large private university, is located in the Fenway area, and is particularly known for its Business and Health Science schools and cooperative education program. Boston College, a private Catholic Jesuit university, whose original campus was located in the South End, now straddles the Boston (Brighton)-Newton border, with planned expansions further into Brighton.[133].Boston's only public university is the University of Massachusetts Boston, located on Columbia Point in Dorchester and Roxbury Community College and Bunker Hill Community College are the city's two public community colleges.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

Suffolk University, a smaller private university, is known for its law school and is located in Beacon Hill. .New England School of Law, a small private law school located in the theater district, was originally established as America's first all female law school.^How much better to have waited, to have first carefully read over all the information, digested it and then shared the painful news with Murdoch, Johnny and Teresa.

Several major national universities located outside Boston have a major presence in the city. .Harvard University, the nation's oldest, is located across the Charles River in Cambridge.^As the carriage carried them across the Charles towards Cambridge, Scott heard for the first time about the earliest stages of his parents’ courtship.

The business and medical schools are in Boston, and there are plans for additional expansion into Boston's Allston neighborhood.[136].The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which originated in Boston and was long known as "Boston Tech," moved across the river to Cambridge in 1916. Tufts University administers its medical and dental school adjacent to the Tufts Medical Center, a 451-bed academic medical institution that is home to both a full-service hospital for adults and the Floating Hospital for Children.^Both of them surely realized the implications of Murdoch Lancer going all the way across the country to Boston, and then coming back alone.

[16].In 2002, Forbes Magazine ranked the Boston Public Schools as the best large city school system in the country, with a graduation rate of 82%.^Wed to a professor, Aunt Cee had always been a strong proponent of education and had offered to enroll Teresa in school in Boston if she remained in the city over the winter.

[137] In 2005, the student population within the school system was 45.5% Black or African American, 31.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14% White, and 9% Asian, as compared with 24%, 14%, 49%, and 8% respectively for the city as a whole.[138][139].The city also has private, parochial, and charter schools and approximately 3000 students of racial minorities attend participating suburban schools through the Metropolitan Educational Opportunity Council, or METCO.^She’d never conceived of talk about “crossing lines,” never imagined private moments in enclosed carriages rolling through city streets.

Many of Boston's major medical facilities are associated with universities. The facilities in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area and in Massachusetts General Hospital are well-known research medical centers affiliated with Harvard Medical School.[143]Tufts Medical Center (formerly Tufts-New England Medical Center), located in the southern portion of the Chinatown neighborhood, is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine. .Boston Medical Center, located in the South End neighborhood, is the primary teaching facility for the Boston University School of Medicine as well as the largest trauma center in the Boston area;[144] it was formed by the merger of Boston University Hospital and Boston City Hospital, which was the first municipal hospital in the United States.^Wed to a professor, Aunt Cee had always been a strong proponent of education and had offered to enroll Teresa in school in Boston if she remained in the city over the winter.

Verizon, successor to New England Telephone, NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, and earlier, the Bell System, is the primary wired telephone service provider for the area. Phone service is also available from various national wireless companies. Cable television is available from Comcast and RCN, with broadband Internet access provided by the same companies in certain areas. A variety of DSL providers and resellers are able to provide broadband Internet over Verizon-owned phone lines.[149].Galaxy Internet Services (GIS) has also moved to the forefront to deploy municipal WiFi Broadband Internet throughout areas of the city of Boston.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

Many of Boston's roads were based upon horse and cart paths from the 17th century. A few horse carriages are still found in the city today.

Downtown Boston's streets were not organized on a grid, but grew in a meandering organic pattern from early in the seventeenth century. They were created as needed, and as wharves and landfill expanded the area of the small Boston peninsula.[156] Along with several rotaries, roads change names and lose and add lanes seemingly at random. .On the other hand, streets in the Back Bay, East Boston, the South End, and South Boston do follow a grid system.^Other than following through on George’s recommendations regarding a will, he’d essentially decided to do nothing for now, telling himself that he’d have another opportunity when he returned to Boston in the spring.

Boston is the eastern terminus of cross-continent I-90, which in Massachusetts runs along the Mass Pike. Originally known as the Circumferential Highway, Route 128 carries I-95 over a portion of its route west and north of the city. .U.S. 1 and I-93 run concurrently north to south through the city from Charlestown to Dorchester, joined by Massachusetts Route 3 after the Zakim Bridge over the Charles River.^The route would take them through many large cities, including Chicago and New York.

.Nicknamed "The Walking City", pedestrian commutes play a larger role than in comparably populated cities.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

.Between 1999 and 2006, Bicycling magazine named Boston as one of the worst cities in the U.S. for cycling three times;[162] regardless, it has one of the highest rates of bicycle commuting.^At least now he knew the identity of one of those three unfamiliar names listed as beneficiaries in his grandfather’s will: M.F. Mathieu.

[163] In September 2007, Mayor Menino started a bicycle program called Boston Bikes with a goal of improving bicycling conditions by adding bike lanes, racks, and offering bikeshare programs. .In 2008, as a consequence the same magazine put Boston on its list of its "Five for the Future" list as a "Future Best City" for biking.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

Boston has eight official sister cities as recognized by Sister Cities International.[166] The date column indicates the year in which the relationship was established. .Kyoto was Boston's first sister city.^But having spent the first twenty-four years of his life in Boston, it was difficult for him not to still think of that large Eastern city as his “Home,” as well.

^ Roessner, Jane. "A Decent Place to Live: from Columbia Point to Harbor Point – A Community History," Boston: Northeastern University Press, c2000. Cf. p. 80, "The Columbia Point Health Center: The First Community Health Center in the Country."

^ Cf. Roessner, p.293. "The HOPE VI housing program, inspired in part by the success of Harbor Point, was created by legislation passed by Congress in 1992."

Note: Municipalities not listed above have a town meeting form of government. Municipalities listed above in italics have a city form of government, but have retained the name prefix "Town of " as part of their official names.

Boston is a huge city with several district articles containing sightseeing, restaurant,
nightlife and accommodation listings — consider printing them
all.

.Boston is the largest city in New England, the
capital of the state of Massachusetts, and one of the most
historic, wealthy and influential cities in the United States of America.^It still seemed strange to imagine that they were the same ones that twinkled down over the towns and forests of New England.

.Its
plethora of museums, historical sights, and wealth of live
performances, all explain why the city gets 16.3 million visitors a
year, making it one of the ten most popular tourist locations in
the country.^He’d realized that he would have been the one they’d expected to be on the stage, that it was Johnny who had been the surprise—to himself most of all.

.Although not in Boston, the neighboring city of Cambridge (just across the
Charles River, home to Harvard and MIT) is part of the larger urban
area and an essential addition to any visit to Boston.^Scott recalled the stir created when British author Charles Dickens had visited Boston after the War, offering public readings of his work while in residence at the Parker House.

^Because Grandfather had viewed the European tour as an essential part of Scott’s education, they had visited each of the capitals, as well as many of the major cities, of France, England, Spain, Prussia, Bavaria, Italy and Greece.

Districts

Allston and Brighton (Allston-Brighton,
All-Bright) - Located west of Boston proper, these districts
(especially Brighton) are primarily residential, and are home to
many students and young professionals.

Back Bay
- This upscale area of Boston has fine shops, fine
dining, as well as sites such as the Prudential Center, Copley
Square, and Hynes Convention Center.

.Beacon
Hill has real gas-lit street lanterns on many of the streets, as
well as many original bricks dating back to age of the city itself.^He’d spent considerable time talking with the young woman while James slowly drove the carriage through the streets of Beacon Hill and along the boundaries of the Common.

Charlestown - Across the Charles
River to the north, this is the site of the Bunker Hill
Monument.

Chinatown - Great Asian food, great
herbalists and next to downtown and the theater district. .4th
largest Chinatown in the United States.

Dorchester ("Dot") - A large working
class neighborhood often considered Boston's most diverse.^The younger man was Johnny’s age; Walt Senior was a long time employee who most often worked around the hacienda itself.

It
includes the JFK Library, UMass Boston, and many
wonderful eateries.

Downtown
- This is the hub of tourist activity with Faneuil Hall,
the Freedom Trail, Boston Public Garden, and Boston
Common. It is also the center of city and state
governments, businesses, and shopping.

East
Boston (Eastie) - On a peninsula across Boston Harbor from the
main bulk of the city and the location of Logan
Airport. .Several underwater tunnels connect East Boston to
the rest of the city.^The rest of their luggage would follow by wagon from Stockton, along with several boxes from Boston, and the crate containing Catherine’s portrait.

Fenway-Kenmore (The Fens, Kenmore
Square) - Fenway Park is the home of the 2004 and 2007
world champion Boston Red Sox.

Financial District - Boston's
business and financial center, this area has a growing number of
residential buildings, plenty of restaurants, bars, and tourist
attractions such as Faneuil Hall, the Old State House, and the New
England Aquarium.

South Boston (Southie) - this is a
proud residential neighborhood with a waterfront district and the
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on its
north side.^To see an image of Boston’s Old West Church: .

.Home to one of the largest Irish and Irish American
populations in the country.

South
End, just south of Back Bay, has Victorian brownstones and a
bohemian atmosphere.^And when the kiss ended, she was acutely aware of Scott’s hands, one covering her hip, the other pressing against her back.

West End
- Once a slum, this neighborhood submitted to "urban renewal"
during the late 1950s and is no longer a coherent
neighborhood].

West Roxbury (Westie, West Rox)

.Boston is a city of diverse neighborhoods, many of which were
originally towns in their own right before being annexed to the
city.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

.This contributes to a strong pride within the neighborhoods
of Boston, and many people will often tell you they are from "JP"
(Jamaica Plain), "Dot" (Dorchester), "Southie" (South Boston), or
"Eastie" (East Boston), rather than that they are from Boston.^Other than following through on George’s recommendations regarding a will, he’d essentially decided to do nothing for now, telling himself that he’d have another opportunity when he returned to Boston in the spring.

.Alternatively, people from the suburbs will tell you they are from
Boston when in fact they live in one of the nearby (or even
outlying) suburbs.^No one had said much of anything, not even Ben or Paul, though they must have had questions.

.If in doubt, you can look for "Resident Parking
Only" street signs, which will identify what neighborhood you are
in.^Surely a full time staff at the Chestnut Street house will not be necessary, Scott, if you’re not in residence.” .

Another consequence of this expansion is that the neighborhoods,
in addition to their cultural identities, also retained most of
their street names, regardless of whether or not Boston -or another
absorbed town- already had a street with the same name. .According
to a survey by The Boston Globe, there are at least 200 street
names that are duplicated in one or more neighborhoods in Boston.^Chestnut Street, it was, one of several named after trees, though if Teresa had had to guess, she would have said that Scott wasn’t seeing the street or the trees or anything else.

For instance, Washington Street in Downtown Boston, is different
from Washington Street in Dorchester and another Washington Street
in Jamaica Plain. This can play havoc with web-based mapping and
direction services.

Be aware that geographic references in district names tend to
mean little. For example, South Boston is different from the South
End, which is actually west of South Boston and north of Dorchester
and Roxbury districts. .Some other confusing notables: East Boston
and Charlestown are further north than the North End.^With each passing hour, this train carried him further away from Boston and Scott, further away from a young man he had come to love more than he could have imagined.

The West End
is in the northern part of town (bordering the North End and
Charles River).

.Among Boston's many neighborhoods, the historic areas of Back
Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Downtown, the Fenway, the Financial
District, Government Center, the North End, and the South End
comprise the area considered "Boston Proper."^Scott found that as they drew nearer to Boston, he was becoming more preoccupied with memories of growing up on Beacon Hill.

The Back
Bay is one of the few neighborhoods with streets organized on a
grid. It is so named because it used to be mud flats on the river,
until the city filled in the bay in a land-making project ending in
1862. It is now one of the higher-rent neighborhoods in the city.
The north-south streets crossing the axis of Back Bay are organized
alphabetically. .Starting from the east, at the Public Garden, and
heading west, they are: Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth,
Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester (pronounced 'gloster'), and Hereford.^But the other morning they’d still all been pretending that he and Murdoch would be heading East themselves soon.

After Hereford Street is Massachusetts Avenue, more commonly known
as Mass. Av., and then Charlesgate, which marks the western
boundary of Back Bay. .The alphabetical street names continue a
little way into the Fenway neighborhood on the other side of
Charlesgate, with Ipswich, Jersey, and Kilmarnock, but the streets
are no longer arranged in a grid.^Lifting her skirts, Teresa ventured a little ways into the surf.

"Districts" are generally areas of common interest located within a
larger neighborhood:

Leather District (downtown)

SoWa District (south of Washington, South End)

Theatre District (south of Chinatown)

Waterfront District (South Boston)

Ladder District (newer phrase for Downtown Crossing)

Understand

When to visit

New England is unpredictable and becomes very cold in the winter
and humid in the summer. .Late May through late September, you'll be
comfortable with no jacket or sweater.^Also, if I may point out, amongst your correspondence you’ll find a telegraph message.

.The Standells
classic "Dirty Water" doesn't apply any more as the water is safe
to swim in thanks to the Boston Harbor Cleanup project.^More than that, Catherine had been his “safe harbor,” a “calm port in the storm” through the challenges and difficulties of life on the ranch.

The remainder of summer tends to be very
warm with uncomfortably high humidity. .Walking, taking a cab, bus,
or the "T" (short for MBTA, the public transit system, which is
air-conditioned) are all good options for exploring the city.^When she could no longer continue, she set the needlework aside and announced that she was going to take a short walk.

.Boston's fall foliage is at or near its peak beauty in
mid-October, which also normally offers the advantage of many crisp
sunny day (outside the city itself, peak foliage timing depends on
how far north or south you venture from Boston.^The day had been crisp, more fall-like than the previous ones, and so the evening air was considerably cooler as well.

.If you visit during the less busy wintertime, the Atlantic Ocean
has a large moderating effect on temperatures.^Scott also believed that worries over business concerns might account at least in part for Grandfather’s desperate actions during his visit to the ranch.

The average low in
January is 22F/-5C, so as long as you dress appropriately, you
should be fine.

History

.Massachusetts' first governor, John Winthrop, famously called
Boston a "shining city on the hill," a reference to Jerusalem and a
declaration of the original settlers' intent to build a utopian
Christian colony.^But having spent the first twenty-four years of his life in Boston, it was difficult for him not to still think of that large Eastern city as his “Home,” as well.

.From the very beginning, the people who lived
there declared their home to be one of the most important cities in
the world.^Lives had been lost, homes destroyed, but most of the burned buildings had housed businesses.

Considering that the American Revolution and modern
democracy got their start thanks to Bostonians, and that Winthrop’s
quote is still used in modern political speech, one could argue
that they were right!

The father of American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (Dr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes) once called the Boston statehouse "the hub
of the solar system," but common usage has expanded to the
now-current Hub of the Universe. This half-serious
term is all you need to know to understand Boston's complicated
self-image. .Vastly important in American history, and for centuries
the seat of the USA's social elite, Boston lost prominence in the
early twentieth century, largely to the cities of New York,
Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.^Teresa had continued to correspond with Melissa even after she had completed her studies in San Francisco and returned to her native Boston.

Over the past two decades,
Boston has regained political, cultural, and economic
importance.

The city was founded in 1630 by members of the Massachusetts Bay
colony, Puritan religious dissidents who had fled England to find freedom in the
New World. Because of its easily-defended harbor and the fact that
it is the closest port to Europe it rapidly assumed a leading role
in the fledging New England
region, with a booming economy based on trade with the Caribbean
and Europe. .The devastating Fire of 1760 destroyed
much of the town, but within a few years the city had bounced
back.^Murdoch found that time and the devastating fire had significantly altered much of what he had known.

Bostonians were the instigators of the independence movement in
the 18th century and the city was the center of America's
revolutionary activity during the Colonial period. Several of the
first Revolutionary War skirmishes were fought there, including the
Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea
Party, and the battles of Lexington and
Concord -which were fought nearby. Boston's direct
involvement in the Revolution ended after the Battle of
Bunker Hill and, soon afterwards, the ending of the
Siege of Boston by George Washington. .For some
time afterwards the city's political leaders continued to have a
leading role in developing of the new country's system of
government.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

The residents' ardent support of independence earned
the city the nickname The Cradle of Liberty.

Throughout the 19th century, Boston continued to grow rapidly,
assimilating outlying towns into the metropolitan core. Its
importance in American culture was inestimable, and its economic
and literary elite, the so-called Boston Brahmins
assumed the mantle of aristocracy in the United States. Their
patronage of the arts and progressive social ideals was
unprecedented in the New World, and often conflicted with the
city's Puritan foundations. .They helped drive unprecedented
scientific, educational and social change that would soon sweep the
country.^But the trip was drawing to a close, and they would be on their way home again soon.

The Abolitionist movement, anesthesia and the telephone
are a few examples of this.

Education was another area that was vitally important to the
elites and citizenery in general. .The first public school in
America, Boston Latin, was founded in 1635. The
oldest elementary school in America, the Mather
School, opened in 1635. (Its current structure, built in
1905, is the oldest continuously-operated school building in
America.^It was exceptionally loud and her first few nights in Boston, Teresa had found it very difficult to sleep because of it.

) .Harvard College in nearby Cambridge became, and in many
ways remains, America's premier center of learning.^They crossed the Charles River into Cambridge, since Scott wanted to show her Harvard College.

.Boston was also
the first city in America to adopt a public library.^But having spent the first twenty-four years of his life in Boston, it was difficult for him not to still think of that large Eastern city as his “Home,” as well.

At the same time, the city's working class swelled with
immigrants from Europe. .The huge Irish influx made
Boston one of the most important Irish cities in the world, in or
out of Ireland.^And if that did happen, if Johnny was “called out,” he’d made it abundantly clear that Scott was to “stay out of it.” Not difficult to do, Scott thought grimly, if he was thousands of miles away, in Boston.

.Gradually the Irish laborer population climbed into
city's upper class, evidenced no better than by the continued
importance of the Kennedy family in national
politics.^Scott paused for a moment, like he was going to say something, then thought better of it and climbed up into the buckboard.

From the early twentieth century until the 1970s, Boston's
importance on the national stage waned. .Cities in what was once the
frontier, like Chicago, San Francisco, and
later Los Angeles,
shifted the nation's center of gravity away from liberty's cradle.^And you think I’m going to, that’s why you want to send me away, to San Francisco?” .

In the past two decades, Boston's importance and influence has
increased, due to growth in higher education, health care, high
technology, and financial services. .It remains America's higher
educational center; during the school year, one in five Bostonians
is a university student.^Wed to a professor, Aunt Cee had always been a strong proponent of education and had offered to enroll Teresa in school in Boston if she remained in the city over the winter.

.There are more college students per square
foot in Boston than any other city in the Western Hemisphere.^As he’d come to know the man, Scott had dared to hope there might be more to the story than that final punctuation point.

^Other than following through on George’s recommendations regarding a will, he’d essentially decided to do nothing for now, telling himself that he’d have another opportunity when he returned to Boston in the spring.

.Boston's nicknames include "Beantown", "The Hub" (shortened from
Oliver Wendell Holmes' phrase 'The Hub of the Universe'), "The City
of Higher Learning" (due to the plethora of universities and
colleges in the Boston area) and - particularly in the 19th century
- "The Athens of America," on account of its great cultural and
intellectual influence.^Cecilia Holmes’ late husband Elwood, though related to the Boston Holmes’ and an instructor at Bowdoin College, had been no society swell, but simply a Mainer first and foremost.

Boston Logan International Airport is the main gateway to Boston
and New England. It is in East Boston a few kilometers from
downtown. All major U.S. carriers serve Boston Logan with extensive
direct connections nationwide. Many European carriers also fly to
Boston from their hubs including British Airways and Virgin
Atlantic (London), Air France (Paris), Alitalia (Rome), Lufthansa
(Frankfurt, Munich), Aer Lingus (Dublin, Shannon), Swiss (Zurich),
Icelandair (Reykjavik), Iberia (Madrid) and NWA/KLM (Amsterdam).
Getting to Boston from Asia will require at least a one stop
connection.

.The Silver Line is a low-floor articulated bus
that stops at each terminal every 10 to 15 minutes, from 6AM to
12:45AM every day (5:35AM start M-Sa).^She’d been wearing the silver sand dollar necklace and earrings every day since Scott had given them to her.

From the airport the bus
travels through the occasionally-clogged Ted Williams Tunnel, and
then through a dedicated bus tunnel to an underground stop at South
Station. Convenient transfers are available to the Red Line,
south-side commuter rail trains, and southwesterly Amtrak trains.
The fare is $1.70 with plastic CharlieCard, or $2 cash or
CharlieTicket. The Silver Line is best if your final destination is
on the Red Line.

To get to the Blue Line, MBTA boat, or parking, take a free
Massport shuttle bus. Check the sign on the front of the shuttle
for its destination.

The Blue line requires a transfer at the
Airport Station to/from a free Massport shuttle to get to/from the
terminals. .On your way out of the city, check the signs at the
Airport Station to see which terminal you need and which shuttle
route goes there.^There is a gentleman here to see you.” .

The Airport station was completely rebuilt in
2004. Blue Line fare is $1.70 with plastic CharlieCard, or $2 with
cash or CharlieTicket. You can get a CharlieCard for free if you
ask the customer service agent near the faregates at Airport
station. .This is a good deal; it gets you discounts on all MBTA
trains and buses, and free transfers.^Johnny seemed to know a good deal about Harlan’s will and all that Scott was in line to inherit from his grandfather.

.You can get this discount on
your first ride if you see the agent before you use the ticket
vending machine.^Somewhere during the first hour of travel, you grew resigned to it, proving yet again that a man could get used to anything.

The last Blue Line train leaves Airport station
shortly after about 12:30AM.

From the Blue line, change at Government Center for Green Line
trains and at State Street for Orange Line trains. If you need a
Red Line train, you could take a Green Line train from Government
Center to Park Street, but the Silver Line (see above) is a better
bet.

.Taxis are more expensive than in many other
cities.^Feeling less than reassured, Johnny moved to the front of the buggy and sprang up to his seat, then waited while Murdoch climbed up more slowly on the other side.

Fortunately, the airport is very near the city so the fare
is not extremely expensive. .It would be about $25 for fares to
Boston, and less if you are staying downtown in the financial
district.^Do you want to stay here, in Boston?” .

.If you're not driving or being picked up, you'll need to
take a taxis if you are at the airport when the T is not
running.^You go on upstairs and get dressed, now, and I’ll just stir up some oatmeal for breakfast.” .

Driving to Logan from the north, take the
Callahan Tunnel; from the south or the west, take the Ted Williams
Tunnel. .Routes are well marked, and there is no toll in this
direction.^Well, there was no help for it now.

Driving from the airport to downtown Boston or to points
north, including Interstate 93 northbound, take the Sumner Tunnel;
for points south and west, including Interstate 93 southbound and
Interstate 90, take the Ted Williams Tunnel. There is a $3 toll for
either tunnel. Routes are well marked, but the airport road system
is complex. .Read the signs carefully and be sure you're in the
correct lane, or you may be forced to swerve across several lanes
of traffic to catch an unexpected off-ramp.^Oh, Scott dear, you’re home---did you have a pleasant day?” She smiled warmly and set aside the book she had been reading.

Airport Limos Axis Coach, LLC
[www.axiscoachusa.com] is a great choice for travel to and from
Logan airport or Manchester airport. They have reasonable rates
from $79 one way. They are also a good choice for nights out and
their knowledgeable chauffeurs also double as tour-guides. .They
show you the local flavor of Boston.^Well, I’m thinkin’ you might have ta show us around Boston some other time.” .

.If your final destination is a point outside of Boston, you may
be better off flying into Manchester-Boston Regional
Airport (IATA: MHT) [3] (50 miles north of
Boston) or T.F. Green Airport (IATA: PVD) [4] (60 miles south of
Boston).^Grandfather had held a firm conviction that Scott would be “better off” in Boston.

.Public transportation from these airports to Boston is
infrequent, so if your final destination is Boston, renting a car
is the best option.^The revelation of their final destination would inevitably lead to conversation about people and places in the city of Boston.

General Aviation traffic is mostly served by
Hanscom Field (ICAO: KBED) off Route
128/I-95 near Bedford, Lexington and Burlington, northwest of
Boston.

By train

Amtrak arrives at South Station, which intersects with the
MBTA's Red Line and the waterfront branches of the Silver Line. .You
can take the Amtrak Northeast Corridor or Acela Express from South
Station all the way to Washington D.C. and beyond.^You traveled all that way alone?” .

.Average Acela
time from Boston to New York City is 3 1/2 hours, while a trip to
Philadelphia takes
about 5 hours.^I’ve already asked the conductor to have a wire sent from New York, letting Aunt Cee know the time of our arrival.” .

^In the course of the mid-day meal, they’d discussed Scott and his trip to Boston; Sam hadn’t heard the news about Garrett’s passing and had numerous questions about the impact the event was likely to have on Scott.

Another popular Amtrak train is the Lake Shore
Limited service between Boston and Chicago (requiring a layover in Albany). .This isn't as high
quality or high speed as the Acela, but at around $75, the price is
right (note that in order to get the low-low fare, you have to
purchase your ticket a few weeks in advance).^Oh, I bet you’ve got two, maybe even three shirts packed in your saddle bags right now.” .

.All Amtrak, and most
commuter, trains to South Station also stop at Back Bay Station,
which is much smaller, but more convenient to Back Bay, Beacon Hill
and the South End.^She’d included all that Scott had requested, but of course there was much more that she wished to say.

.Amtrak also uses North Station at the TD Banknorth Garden
(previously called the Fleet Center) for its Downeaster service via
Haverhill to New
Hampshire and Maine, with
the final stop in Portland.^In Portland, they changed to the Maine Central line for the trip to Brunswick, disembarking at a large new train station where the Holmes’ carriage waited to take them across town.

Remember, Boston's North and South stations are not
linked, and are over a mile from one another. In order to
travel in between, hop on the inbound Red Line subway at South
Station and switch at Downtown Crossing to the Orange Line to North
Station. .You could always take a cab, but the subway (known locally
as the "T") is significantly cheaper.^What reasons could he have given for taking the child from the only home he’d ever known?

.Your best option is to go
between North Station and Back Bay station, since they are directly
linked by the Orange Line.^Back then it was understandable that Scott hadn’t ever said anything about being captured, since he hadn’t been at the ranch very long, and they hadn’t known each other very well yet.

.If you have a first class Acela ticket, you may use the Amtrak
Metropolitan Lounge in the historic, renovated South Station.^Somewhere during the first hour of travel, you grew resigned to it, proving yet again that a man could get used to anything.

There
is no lounge at Back Bay Station. .You may use Quik Track machines
to buy your ticket without standing in line, or to pick up tickets
you have reserved online.^Also, if I may point out, amongst your correspondence you’ll find a telegraph message.

.Arriving by train has the advantage of putting you within easy
reach of most downtown destinations by public transit.^Ever since they’d arrived, Mrs. Holmes had been most considerate about explaining things that she thought might be new or unfamiliar; it made it easy to ask her questions.

Megabus, Back Bay Station, ☎+1 877 462-6342, [11].^It was another betrayal, and unlike Grandfather’s attempt to use Julie to lure him back to Boston, or to force his return by threatening him with the Degans, this action had never been revealed.

.Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus serve many cities from South Station
but are generally much more expensive than the Chinatown buses,
with Greyhound and PPB averaging $30 to New York.^Scott smiled his thanks, realizing guiltily that he must have told her more than a few times how much he disliked traveling by stage.

However, eSaver
fares available online make the Greyhound fare between Boston &
NYC as low as $15 each way. .The Chinatown buses (AKA Dragon Buses)
and BoltBus now use South Station also and serve Hartford, Connecticut and New
York City.^The route would take them through many large cities, including Chicago and New York.

Some Chinatown buses average $12.50 one way. .BoltBus and
Megabus also include free wi-fi aboard most buses to New York
City.^The route would take them through many large cities, including Chicago and New York.

.It should be noted that Fung Wah Transportation has been in the
headlines for several accidents involving its buses in 2006 and
2007. Despite having stayed out of trouble in the past several
years, it maintains a somewhat poor reputation around the city.^She couldn’t have stayed here, but we thought of sending the girl out of the city, finding someone willing to adopt the infant.

.If you're heading
downtown for the touristy sites, you will consider having a car a
curse rather than a blessing.^Scott considered that he’d prefer to see to the task himself rather than leave Brunswick to be re-shod in his absence, so he’d thanked José for the reminder and asked him to stop by the smithy.

Parking at MBTA commuter rail and
terminal subway locations is usually cheaper than parking in the
city. In particular, the Riverside (Grove Street) stop at the end
of the Green D line is right off I-95, and is $5.75 to park ALL
DAY. You can even park overnight for something like a dollar more.
Commuter rail stations are even cheaper. See the Public Transit
section in the "Get around" section below.

.Boston has two major highways entering it, I-93 and I-90 (the
Massachusetts Turnpike, or "Mass Pike", or "Pike"; locals do not
usually call it "I-90", though they will know what you are refering
to).^Scott planned to let his father and brother know they were departing from Boston by sending a wire the day they boarded the westbound train.

I-93 enters the city from the north and the south; the section
running from Boston southward is referred to as the "Southeast
Expressway" but the northern section is just "93 North." The Pike
enters Boston from the west. .The Mass Pike is a toll road - expect
to pay $1.25 to enter the city via the Pike, in addition to the
tolls charged when arriving at the I-90 / I-95 interchange in
Weston, just outside the city (variable based on distance
travelled, max price is $3.85 if you drive all the way from the
automatic ticket machines near the New York border).^You traveled all that way alone?” .

.Also, if you
enter The Pike in East Boston (at Logan Airport) the toll is $3.50.
There are minor roads, of course, that enter Boston as well,
including Route 9 (Old Worcester Turnpike), Route 2, and US 1.
Another major highway, I-95 (also known as Route 128) encircles the
Boston area.^Well, maybe Scott and Murdoch had talked some, while the Old Man was in Boston.

.There are many car rental places around Boston, but one of the
most unique is Zipcar, an hourly car rental service.^There was no need to enumerate each one of Teresa’s many good qualities, he knew them all full well, by heart.

If you don't
plan to do much driving, this may be an economical alternative to
owning a car. If you want to use Zipcar, you should try signing up
in advance (students of universities in Boston may be able to get a
discount). Rental fees and taxes differ between Boston and
Cambridge, but the rental agencies at Logan Airport (in East
Boston) are still usually less expensive and have a greater fleet
of cars available.

In addition to the Massachusetts Turnpike
(I-90), the Sumner Tunnel is a toll road (coming from the airport
only), along with the Ted Williams Tunnel (from airport only), and
the Tobin Bridge (southbound/from the North Shore only).

.If driving on a major highway during rush hour, do not be
surprised to see cars driving in the breakdown lane on the
shoulder.^Now that the lamps inside the car were lit he could no longer actually see anything outside, but that wasn’t what he’d stared at for the past hour anyway.

This is permitted in certain areas, at certain times, as
indicated by signs along the road.

As a general rule, especially as a tourist unfamiliar with the
city, alternatives are favored over driving - even when just
getting in or out of the city. Boston is one of the densest major
cities in the U.S. - perfect for walking, biking, or using the
collection of mass transit systems known as the T.
Driving can be confusing and dangerous with numerous one way
streets, narrow roads, and continuous road construction. Driving
conditions have improved after the completion of the infamous Big
Dig, but it is still not recommended to those unfamiliar with the
area.

By Thumb

.Due to the extensiveness of Boston's light rail and subway
system, with lines going out into the suburbs, and commuter rail
going even further, hitchhiking into Boston has a much larger
margin of error than it would in many other US cities.^Other than following through on George’s recommendations regarding a will, he’d essentially decided to do nothing for now, telling himself that he’d have another opportunity when he returned to Boston in the spring.

.One need
only find a ride to somewhere in the vicinity of Boston, and from
there hop on a train into the city.^The next morning they were up and out very early again, with another short train ride along the coast to the city of Bath and from there a bumpy journey by wagon to Phippsburg.

Get around

Navigating the streets of Boston is difficult if you are not
familiar with the area. .While other American cities have their
streets laid out in a grid (New York, Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix), or along a river, lake, or other
geographical feature (New Orleans, Cleveland), the modern streets of Boston are
a twisty and seemingly incomprehensible maze.^As the carriage moved along Chestnut Street, Scott pointed out the Hayfords’ house.

Boston in the 1600s
was a narrow peninsula surrounded by farmland and distant
settlements. Landfill, urban expansion, waves of radical economic
change, and new technologies have seen sensible street patterns
added on to and collide in less sensible ways. Due to dense
development, the older street patterns have largely remained in
place without being adapted to their modern surroundings.
In this way, Boston is more similar to old European cities
than most typical large American cities that were well
planned, expanded into unsettled land, or were mainly settled in
the late 20th century.

Driving

Driving is to be avoided if possible. Boston is
known as an excellent walking city, and has
excellent public transit [15]
relative to the size of the city itself and inner suburbs. Most
tourist attractions are well served by the subway system, and
walking will allow you to see the top tourist sights with ease.

Signage is generally poor, and the names of major streets are
usually unmarked when crossing minor streets. .There are many
one-way streets, often arranged haphazardly.^There was no need to enumerate each one of Teresa’s many good qualities, he knew them all full well, by heart.

Street names are
duplicated in different neighborhoods (due to municipal
consolidations in the 1800s and early 1900s). Even Bostonians can
easily get lost. Navigating from "square" to "square" (major
intersections - usually not actually square or really any
consistent shape) is one navigational technique. .Some parts of the
city are difficult to reach from other nearby parts, prompting the
local expression, "Ya cain't get theyah from hee-ah!^It was more difficult to excuse his grandfather for some of the other details contained in the file labeled “Murdoch Lancer.” .

.Avoid driving at morning or evening rush hour; highways and
streets can become quite congested.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

(Peak times vary, depending on
relative distance from downtown.) Public transit also becomes very
crowded during rush hour, and just before and after major sporting
events and public celebrations.

.If you do chose to drive, watch out for double-parked vehicles,
travel lanes that suddenly become parking lanes, lanes that
disappear as you cross intersections, jaywalkers, and bicyclists
coasting through red lights or lane splitting.^In fact, Miss O’Brien and I are going out for a drive this afternoon---- perhaps you might pack us up a box?” .

Give taxi drivers
extra room; do not pass stopped trolleys on the right. .Allow buses
to merge back into traffic instead of trying to pass them quickly.^So’s she workin’ with the old man now, writin’ t’ try to talk ya into going back East?” .

If you encounter train tracks in the road, be aware that they can
be slippery, especially when wet. Hold the steering wheel tightly
to avoid being dragged off course. .If you encounter a rotary,
remember that Massachusetts state law gives the right of way to
traffic in a rotary, also known as a roundabout in other
parts in the world.^They’d already talked about their arrival, deciding that they wouldn’t make any sort of announcement or do anything to make their feelings for each other known right away.

The only toll road in the area is the Massachusetts Turnpike
(Interstate I-90), with various prices depending on entrance and
exit points. .Other tolls include the Ted Williams and Sumner
Tunnels, each of which charges $3.50 when coming back from Logan
Airport into downtown.^Then perhaps William would come back home.” .

.The Tobin Bridge on Route 1 headed
southbound toward downtown charges $3. Have cash on hand for these
roads as checks and credit card are not accepted.^Amelia Hayford was sitting on the sofa, her head bent towards the wooden hoop in one hand, plying a needle with the other.

Parking

.Parking can be expensive, up to $40/day downtown on a weekday,
though $20 and $7 deals can be found if you are willing to walk.^And I hope you’ll change your mind and sit up front with us---- that is, if you’re willing to take my opinion over that of Mr. Harper.” .

.Most cheap or free street parking is permitted as resident only and
requires a special sticker, or is metered and has a 2-hour time
limit.^Surely a full time staff at the Chestnut Street house will not be necessary, Scott, if you’re not in residence.” .

Parallel parking is a necessary skill for street parking.
.Believe it or not, you can park in a space that is only a few
inches larger than your car, if you don't mind scrapes on your
bumpers and take advantages of the bounciness of cars'
suspensions.^You have a lot on your mind, and a lot to take care of.

Garages are located at Quincy Market, the Aquarium, the new
State Street Financial Center, the Theater District and the Boston Common.
There are three levels of parking under the Common. .The garage is
very clean and its central location makes it a good starting point
for a day trip in the city.^I had enough money saved for the trip and to make some sort of a start in California.

To get in and out of the garage, there
are four pavilions on the Common; each has stairs and an elevator.
.Once out of the garage, the Park Street and Boylston Street subway
stops are only a two or three minute walk away.^The next day, the three of them walked down to the fort and back, stopping to call at a friend’s house along the way.

.Watch for
street cleaning, resident-only parking zones, and commercial
parking zones - all of which will vary depending on the day and
time.^With hindsight, it was significant that in all the time they’d spent together and the various subjects they’d discussed, certain topics had been avoided.

Parking meters are enforced heavily throughout the city.
Meters in different parts of the city will turn off at different
times (ie. 8PM downtown or 6PM in many other neighborhoods). A
broken meter entitles you to the posted time limit without having
to pay.

The rapid transit lines of the MBTA system. (Bus, commuter rail,
and boat not shown.)

Public transit in Boston is convenient and relatively
inexpensive, and can take you directly to most everything. A single
public transit agency serves the Boston Metro area, the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ("MBTA", or "the T" for
short). The MBTA is the fourth-largest transit system in the U.S.
For complete schedules, maps, and other information, see their
official website at [16].

After decades of using tokens for fare payment, the entire MBTA
system was converted in 2007 to an electronic CharlieCard and
CharlieTicket system. Dispensing machines at all stations accept
cash, credit cards, and debit cards. .If you go straight to a
dispensing machine, you'll get a paper CharlieTicket with magnetic
stripe.^You go on upstairs and get dressed, now, and I’ll just stir up some oatmeal for breakfast.” .

.If you have time, first ask an attendant at any underground
station for a plastic CharlieCard, which is a contactless "smart
card". The Card is free and will give you a discount on all subway
and bus fares, and it's the only way to get free transfers to and
from buses.^You traveled all that way alone?” .

Bicycles are sometimes welcome on the MBTA. Bikes are allowed on
the Blue, Red, and Orange subway lines except at peak hours, but
are not allowed on the Green and Silver lines. Bikes are always
allowed on MBTA buses that are equipped with bike racks. The MBTA
is currently installing bike racks on many bus routes - check the
MBTA website for the latest updates. Bikes are allowed on MBTA
boats and ferries at any time. .On commuter rail trains, they are
allowed anytime except weekday rush hours, as noted on individual
train line schedules.^The grey-uniformed conductor announced that they would have almost two hours, since the train was picking up additional cars.

.They are extremely
useful for locals and travelers getting a bit off the beaten track,
because they show all bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, and boat
lines.^Finding it much easier to think about what they might do, rather than what they might talk about, Scott had used a portion of his wakeful night to plan their travels about the city.

.Most of the T maps you will see only show the rapid transit
lines, which are identified by color.^I should be thanking you, Mrs. Hudson, not only for your years of service, but most especially for those cookies.

Subway (or "the T")

The subway is composed of four color-coded rail lines, the Red Line, Orange Line, Green Line, and Blue Line. Short of
particular non-touristy spots in the suburbs, the subway can get
you anywhere.

.The Green Line splits into four branches going
west that are known as the B, C, D and E lines (from north to
south).^But had he known that Scott was going west, surely Grandfather would have told him about Murdoch’s journey east.

.Going west on the Green Line, the E line branches off at
Copley Square station, the other three split at Kenmore Square
station.^Well, before you go ridin’ off to Green River, you should know Irene ain’t there any more.

Just after the lines split, these lines all run above
ground and become "streetcar" lines. .The B line branch of the Green
Line runs through Boston University and ends at Boston College;
therefore, during the school year, B-line trolleys are often very
crowded with students, particularly at night.^It felt good to get out and walk around a bit and the grounds of the college were very pretty, with tree-lined walkways and handsome brick buildings.

The Red Line splits in two directions going
south that are known as the Braintree and Ashmont
branches, the latter of which connects to a streetcar line to
Mattapan. Going south, the Red Line splits at JFK/UMass
station.

.When Bostonians say that they use the T, they're almost always
referring to the subway, though the other modes of mass transit
(bus, commuter rail, etc.^Much as they’d taken pleasure in each other’s company, it had always been understood that it wouldn’t amount to anything.

) are still technically part of the T.
While the MBTA refers to the Silver Line as a subway route (it
appears on subway maps), most Bostonians consider it part of the
bus system.

The subway system is slightly confusing in that directions are
often marked "inbound" and "outbound", rather than with a
destination. ."Inbound" means "into the center of Boston", where all
four lines converge at four stops: State (Blue and Orange), Park
Street (Red and Green), Government Center (Blue and Green), and
Downtown Crossing (Orange and Red).^And if he had actually sent a letter, how, after all, would he ever have known if it had arrived safely in Boston, let alone made it’s way into Scott’s hands?

."Outbound" means "away from the
center of Boston". Once one is in the center, signs
generally give the direction ("eastbound") or the last stop on the
line in that direction ("Alewife").^Once his mother had left the room, Will resumed his seat, gesturing in the general direction of the liquor cabinet against the far wall.

.Note that most Green Line trains do not go all the way
to the end of the line at Lechmere; most turn around
either at North Station or Government Center.^Holmes’ voice pushed them apart, when she came around to the bottom of the narrow staircase to announce that the man had arrived with the wagon to take them to the train station in Bath.

.If you are traveling
farther than Government Center, your best bet is to get on the
first train that comes, and then wait at the stop where you are
forced to leave the train for the next Lechmere or North Station
train.^Somewhere during the first hour of travel, you grew resigned to it, proving yet again that a man could get used to anything.

Subway and light rail service generally does not run
between 1 AM and 5AM. (The same goes for the commuter rail
lines - usually midnight or before.) Each line (Green, Blue, etc.)
has a ."last train" time, starting at one end of the line and going
to the other.^Instead, Scott carefully aligned the gloves, one on top of the other, palms facing, while he carefully lined up his next words.

.Sometimes the last train is delayed due to passenger load
or the need to wait for the last connection from another line, so
you might get lucky if you are running late.^Bottom line, Scott had been pretty quick to agree that “another time” might be better.

.Check with a T
employee near the faregates to see if you've missed the last train
or not.^The conversation you had today, with Mrs. Mathieu--I see no reason to trouble Miss O’Brien with such things.” .

See the link [19] for complete
fare information on passes. Buy a CharlieCard 1 day pass for $9 or
a 7 day unlimited pass for $15. The 7-Day LinkPass is valid for 7
days from the date and time of purchase. .The LinkPass gives you
unlimited travel on Subway, Local Bus, Inner Harbor Ferry, and
Commuter Rail Zone 1A. (Note that Commuter Rail and boats do not
accept CharlieCards, so you must use a CharlieTicket for these
services.^Somewhere during the first hour of travel, you grew resigned to it, proving yet again that a man could get used to anything.

The cost of a one-way ride on the MBTA Subway is $1.70 plus FREE
subway and local bus transfers (if done on a CharlieCard), or $2 if
done on a Charlie Ticket or paying by cash. This will get you to
most destinations. .Parking at the Alewife station on the Red line
is ample but will cost you $7 no matter when you come and go (for
each 24 hour period).^I had no idea you were coming, Julie.” .

.Riverside Station just off I-95 has plentiful
parking for $3.75 for ALL DAY. Additional suburban parking is
available in Quincy, Braintree, and many Commuter Rail stops.^If Scott had been listening at all to Murdoch’s plans for the next few days, then he knew just how early Johnny and the rest of the men would be heading out.

By bus

.Regular bus service (the vast majority of buses) is usually
slower than rapid transit, but is also cheaper and may take you
closer to your final destination.^Also, if I may point out, amongst your correspondence you’ll find a telegraph message.

Express buses are faster, more
expensive, and travel longer distances. CharlieCard users get free
transfers and pay $1.25 for regular bus, $2.80 for Inner Express,
and $4 for Outer Express (check the schedule to know which line is
which). Charlie Ticket or cash customers pay $1.50 for regular bus,
$3.50 for Inner Express, and $5 for Outer Express, with no free
transfers.

Note that the Silver
Line bus rapid transit line is split into
discontinuous segments. Routes SL1 and SL2, departing from South
Station, are considered part of the subway system (though their
vehicles are dual-mode electric/diesel buses) and have free
underground transfers to the Red Line. Routes SL4 and SL5 are
considered part of the bus system, and have the lower local bus
fare fare. Although Route SL4 also stops at South Station, it stops
outside the station complex, and transfers between SL4 and the
other Silver Line routes or the Red Line are only free with a
CharlieCard.

Water shuttle

.The MBTA runs a number of water shuttles[20], but
the most useful for tourists is the shuttle from Long Wharf to Navy
Yard
[21], which costs $1.70. This provides a convenient connection
between the USS Constitution Museum and the area around Faneuil
Hall and the New England Aquarium.^Audra had much to recommend her---she had a pleasant, gentle demeanor, she was used to life on a ranch, and she was most definitely attractive, with long golden blond hair.

.There's also a shuttle from Long
Wharf to Logan Airport, but it runs relatively infrequently, so the
Blue Line is your best bet for getting between these two
destinations.^Oh, I bet you’ve got two, maybe even three shirts packed in your saddle bags right now.” .

There are also non-MBTA public ferries
available from several ports, notably the Aquarium and Long Wharf,
and a water taxi service on the waterfront.

Commuter rail

Commuter rail [22] in
Boston is primarily used for traveling to towns outside of the
city. Due to its limited frequency compared to the subway, it is
not generally recommended for travel within the city itself. An
exception is travel between Back Bay Station and South Station,
which is served by 5 commuter rail branches on weekdays and is free
one way. Commuter rail fares range from $1.70 to $7.75 one way,
although any ticket to or from the city is at least $4.25. Tickets
can be bought on board trains, but at a slight surcharge.
Passengers can ride for free from Back Bay to South Station, but
must buy a ticket for $1.70 to travel from South Station to Back
Bay.

Trains heading north of the city leave from North Station, while
those heading south or west leave from South Station. Both stations
have connections to the subway: North Station is on the Green and
Orange Lines, and South Station is on the Red and Silver Lines. .The
two stations are not directly connected: you cannot board
a train north of the city and take it to a point south of the city.^Holmes’ voice pushed them apart, when she came around to the bottom of the narrow staircase to announce that the man had arrived with the wagon to take them to the train station in Bath.

.Such a journey will require a subway ride in-between train trips to
make the connection.^So far the return train trip had been uneventful, almost routine in contrast to the great adventure of the eastward journey, when everything had been so strange and new.

Taxi

Your current alternative to late-night public transit is a taxi.
Taxis can be hailed at any significant street corner, such as
Kenmore Square or Copley Square. .Expect to spend at least $5 and
possibly up to $30 in the immediate surroundings (this includes the
initial fare, a small tip for the driver, small one-way streets,
bad traffic, construction, tolls for bridges, tolls for tunnels,
tolls for the Mass Pike, and any wait time).^A picket fence,” he announced, gesturing with one hand towards the one surrounding the small yard.

.To get further out of
Boston, expect to spend much more (for example, from the airport to
Wellesley, a Boston
suburb, would be around $80, which includes the actual driving and
tolls along the way).^Apparently the rest of the baggage was still on the way, along with some boxes Scott had shipped from Boston.

Fun fact, as of summer 2009, Boston has the
most expensive taxis of any major American city.

By foot

Boston's downtown core is compact and easily walkable. Most
tourist attractions can be visited on foot, although some
neighborhoods require rail and/or bus connections. The climate is
cold from December to April, and the city is the most windy in
America. Snow can also be an obstacle.

.If late at night, you feel you can deal neither with the cost of
a taxi nor the wait involved with the MBTA, then Boston is a
relatively small and safe city and walking is an option.^Did the two of you have a pleasant walk last night?” .

By bicycle

.Many Boston residents use bicycling as their primary mode of
transit all year round, and Boston's small size and relative
flatness make biking an appealing way to get around.^Travel all that ways so that her mother can make the introductions and you can shake the child’s hand?

Boston lacks
many amenities for bicyclists, however, as the roads are covered
with potholes and absent of designated bicycle lanes or bicycle
racks, so visitors wishing to travel by bicycle should have
excellent urban riding skills prior to renting a bicycle.
.Riding on the sidewalk is illegal in the city of Cambridge, and
frowned upon in Boston, and being well-lit in the evenings is
important both for following regulations and for being safe.^Even the painful memories associated with being here in Boston.

.Recent
efforts by Mayor Thomas Menino promise increased city investment in
bicycling as a viable mode of transportation, and the mayor himself
has taken up biking around town.^Teresa had mentioned that it had been Melissa Harper who had taken her shopping and shown her around the city, because Scott had been spending so much of his time at his grandfather’s office.

.A central transit for bikers in Boston is the Southwest Corridor
Bike Path, a major park/bike way placed along a route once slated
for a major freeway system.^Apparently the rest of the baggage was still on the way, along with some boxes Scott had shipped from Boston.

.This runs parallel to the T's Orange
Line and connects Forest Hills to the Back Bay.^As the carriage wound it way through the tree-lined streets of Beacon Hill to the Old West Church, Teresa asked after everyone back at the ranch.

Urban AdvenTours, ☎+1
800-979-3370, [24]. Offers guided bicycle tours for various skill
levels. Also provides bike rentals and bike deliveries. New
location at 103 Atlantic Avenue in the North End.edit

See

.There are several visitor pass programs that offer discounted or
free admission to a number of the sites listed below, among them
the GoBoston Card [25] and the CityPass [26].^The Link below leads to a listing of the names found on each tablet along with the date of death and where they fell; the site also contains translations of the Latin inscriptions.

Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave.
(Museum of Fine Arts station, Green Line, E Train), Phone:
+1 617 267-9300, [28].
(Free for ages 7-17 after 3PM weekdays, all weekend, and public
school holidays; entrance fees are optional on Wednesdays from
4-9:45PM). Boston's largest and most comprehensive art museum, and
also one of the pricier museums in the US. Currently undergoing an
expansion project, it is also known for its impressive assortment
of French Impressionist paintings, with the largest collection of
Monet paintings outside of Paris; it also has extraordinary
collections of Egyptian and Japanese art, one of the major American
collections of art from ancient Greece and Rome, one of the most
comprehensive collections of American art, and one of the largest
and finest print collections in the United States.

The Collection of Historical Scientific
Instruments, 1 Oxford St,, Cambridge, Phone: +1
617-495-2779, [29]. T
stop: Red Line to "Harvard Square". M-F, 11AM-4PM. Free and open to
the public. Closed on University Holidays. Has over 20,000 objects
dating from 1400 to present day.

Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern
Ave. (Courthouse Station, Silver Line), +1 617
478-3100 [31]. The much-anticipated new
building designed by starchitects Diller+Scofidio, the ICA is on
Fan Pier on the South Boston Waterfront.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The
Fenway (MFA Station, Green E Line), Phone: +1
617-566-1401 [32]. The
villa-turned-museum of an eccentric Bostonian, the Gardner features
an eclectic collection of European objects, beautiful floral
displays, and was the site of a spectacular painting heist in 1990.
Students $5.

MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. (Red Line to
either "Central Square Station" or "Kendall Square/MIT"),
Phone: +1 617-253-5927 [33] Daily 9AM–8PM until
June 30, 2007. The MIT Museum is a place that explores invention,
ideas, and innovation. Home to renowned collections in science and
technology, holography, architecture and design, nautical
engineering and history, the Museum features changing and ongoing
exhibitions, unique hands-on activities, and engaging public
programs.

New England Aquarium, Central Wharf(Blue
Line to Aquarium), +1 617-973-5200 [35]. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa-Su 9AM-6PM.
Home of what was until recently the world's largest fish tank,
according to the Guiness Book of World Records. Great fun for kids
of all ages. Whale watching tours available, too. Adults $20.95,
Students $18.95, Senior 60+ $18.95, Ages 3-11 $12.95.

Mapparium, 175 Huntington Ave. (Green Line
to the Prudential, Symphony, or Hynes/ICA stop), Phone:
+1 888-222-3711
[36]. The Mary Baker Eddy Library at the world headquarters of
the Christian Science Church houses a three story globe room where
visitors can view a stained-glass map of the world from inside the
center. Tu-Su 10AM-4PM. The $6 admission covers most of the museum
and library.

Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, 11
Divinity Ave., Cambridge (Red Line to
"Harvard Square"), Phone: +1 617-496-1027 [37]. Daily 9AM-5PM.
One of the oldest museums in the world devoted to anthropology and
houses one of the most comprehensive records of human cultural
history in the Western Hemisphere.

Semitic Museum, 6 Divinity Ave.Cambridge (T stop: Red
Line to "Harvard Square"), Phone: +1 617-495-4631 [38]. M-F
10AM-4PM, Su 1PM-4PM. See a collection of over 40,000 artifacts
from the Near East across multiple ancient civilizations.

Panopticon Gallery, Inside the Hotel
Commonwealth 502c Commonwealth Ave. (T stop: Green Line to
"Kenmore Square"), Phone: +1 617-267-8929 [41]. M-F 10AM-6PM, Sat 11
AM-5PM. Founded in 1971, Panopticon Gallery is one of the oldest
galleries in the United States dedicated solely to photography. The
gallery specializes in 20th Century American Photography and
emerging contemporary photography.

March: St. Patrick's Day[42].
The 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade is March 15 at 1 p.m. PST. This
year, however, it will be held on March 16th. March 17th is not
celebrated officially as St. Patrick's Day, but rather as
Evacuation Day, a local holiday marking the expulsion of British
troops from the city on March 17, 1776. But Boston has one of the
highest Irish populations outside of Ireland, and Irish pride
reigns on this day. .Don't forget to wear green, drink a beer, and
buy something that says "Kiss Me I'm Irish!"^What if Scott had had his fill of herding cattle and clearing streams and drinking warm beer at the saloon in Green River?

(regardless of your
ethnicity). If possible, catch the local band Dropkick Murphys
(think punk rock with bagpipes) at their infamous St. Patrick's Day
show.

Third Monday in April: Patriot's Day/Boston
Marathon[43]. The oldest marathon
in the the world, the race started in 1897 and is always run on the
holiday that commemorates Paul Revere's ride in 1775 and the
ensuing battles at Lexington and Concord (suburbs of Boston)
that started the Revolution. The race runs from Hopkinton to the finish line
in Copley Square. The halfway point is the wealthy suburb of Wellesley, where students
from Wellesley College (America's leading institute for all-women's
education) form the "Scream Tunnel" to cheer on runners (who are in
turn encouraged to "Kiss a Wellesley Girl for good luck!"). Parts
of Commonwealth Avenue outbound from there and surrounding streets
are closed for the race. Elsewhere, Paul Revere's ride and the
battles are re-enacted each year in front of thousands of people.
Arrive early to get a good spot. Finally, the Red Sox always have a
home game on this date, which starts at 11AM to accommodate the
crowds who watch the Marathon as it goes by Fenway Park. .This is
the only Major Leage baseball game that starts before noon local
time during the season.^It had only been after the fighting was over that Scott had seen the short report Agent Lawby had written, which mentioned his time as a cavalry officer during the War—and very little else.

Other than St. Patrick's/Evacuation Day
this is the only time that you will find huge crowds at bars early
in the morning.

June: Boston Pride[44] The second-largest
event in the city after the Fourth of July. .Boston's LBGT community
- and everyone else - comes out for a fabulous parade from Copley
Square, through the South End, to Boston Common.^He could picture the two of them strolling through Boston Common, as well as walking along the Thames or standing beneath the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.

.A host of events occur
throughout the day that culminate with the Boston Pops concert on
the Esplanade along the Charles river - the oldest and largest
public celebration of the 4th in the country.^At mid-day, they drove back across the river to Boston to dine at the Parker House.

The concerts were
started in 1929 by conductor Arthur Fiedler and were enhanced with
fireworks by philanthropist David Mugar during the bicentennial
celebrations in 1976. Sometimes sparsely attended in the beginning,
it is televised nationally and has become the country's premier 4th
of July event with hundreds of thousands squeezing along both sides
of the Charles each year. This event also holds the world record
for the largest crowd to ever attend a classical concert. Seats
closest to the stage go to folks who show up before dawn to wait in
line but there are speakers and huge TV screens posted all along
the river so everybody can see the show. .Parts of Storrow Drive in
Boston, Memorial Drive in Cambridge, and Massachusetts Avenue on
and near the Mass.^His jaw clenched at the painful memory of his grandfather’s introduction of the Degan brothers as part of a “more pressing reason” for him to return to Boston.

Ave. bridge are closed due to extremely heavy
pedestrian traffic. Note that the roads and public transit are
heavily congested after the fireworks display. .There are other
celebrations during the day, starting with a flag-raising ceremony
at City hall at 9AM. This is followed by a parade to the Granary
Burial Ground which is led by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Company, Boston's militia, which is the 3rd-oldest military unit in
the world.^We don’t do much visiting during the week; there’s a lot of work to be done on a ranch, and everyone puts in very long days.” .

^During the day, the four of them gathered in one sitting room or the other, talking or reading, though Scott had been working on his correspondence and, of course, she and Mrs. Hayford each had needlework.

.Honors are given at the graves of each of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence who are interred there, as well as
the victims of the Boston Massacre and Peter Faneuil.^Today though, he’d talked quite a bit about Boston, outlining the events that would take place there as well as describing his house and the people she would meet.

The parade
then moves on to the Old State House where the Declaration is read
in its entirety from the main balcony (which overlooks the site of
the Massacre) to the crowd, just as it has been every year since
1776.

Late August: The Feast of St. Anthony. The
biggest of several Feasts in the North End. This one includes lots
of food vendors, games, music, and a parade on Hanover Street and
environs.

October: The Head of the Charles Regatta. .Over
8,000 rowers from around the globe compete in this regatta, one of
the world's largest two-day rowing event.^Look, Murdoch, you said yourself it’d be more’n two weeks travel just to be there for that one day.

It often attracts up to
300,000 spectators along the banks of the Charles River.

December 31/January 1: First Night[46]. .Boston's New Year's Eve
celebration, it is the oldest public New Year's Eve party in
America and has been copied by cities all around the world.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

.It is a
city-wide, family-friendly arts and culture festival which starts
in the late morning with child-centric events and continues with
dozens of music, dance, poetry and other exhibitions through
midnight, culminating in fireworks on the waterfront.^Looking through one of the upper drawers, he soon came across the ledger for the household accounts, but continued to survey the contents of the other desk drawers.

Do

.A good resource for daily and nightly event listings of all
sizes and interests can be found by picking up a free Weekly Dig or
The Phoenix newspaper from one of the many free newspaper vending
boxes located at most major busy intersections.^She picked up the disc, which actually was the size of a dollar coin.

^Although Scott had discussed painful personal subjects with Will many times before, it seemed as if that was all he had been doing lately, engaging in difficult conversations with one person or another.

Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Phone:
+1 617-524-1718[47]. T stop: Orange
Line or Needham commuter rail to "Forest Hills" (last stop on the
Orange Line). .Come see the oldest public arboretum in North America
and one of the world's leading centers for the study of plants.^Johnny idly rotated the mug with one hand while he waited to see which one would come over.

Boston Harbor Islands State Park, Phone:
+1 617-727-5290 [48].
Take a Ferry (Long Wharf: Blue line to Aquarium), Phone:
+1 617-223-8666 [49]) out to Georges
Island and tour Fort Warren. .See why Boston was the most defensible
city in the New World.^The train would arrive in New York City quite early the next morning and in Boston some five hours after that.

Ranger-led activities, events, narrations, or
just swim, picnic, camp or fish. This is a hidden jewel that is off
the beaten path.

Newbury Street[50] Eight blocks of high-end
boutiques, hair salons, and galleries. Makes for a fabulous day of
shopping and dining. .Accessible on the Green Line from the
Arlington, Copley, and Hynes stations.

Boston Common and Public Garden. A must-see
for all visitors during the warmer months.^Now widowed, Cecilia Holmes continued to spend time at her Maine residence during the summer months, but the rest of the year resided with her brother in Boston.

The oldest public park
in America. Ride the famous Swan Boats, walk across the world's
shortest suspension bridge and generally enjoy the park with its
shady trees, fountains, statues, sidewalk vendors, and greenery.
Visit the "Cheers" bar across Beacon St, but be forewarned:
only tourists go here. .A great starting point for visitors
interested in local historical sights, or on your way to Downtown
Crossing or the Back Bay.^Of course, after spending time in the city, she might be interested in seeing a cattle ranch, Scott; perhaps I’ll send her your way, after a bit?” .

Very nice foliage in the fall. The area
east of Charles St is the Common, which is more open and less
manicured. The area west of Charles St. is the Public Garden, which
consists of many walking paths amid an impressive variety of
well-maintained folliage. .Accessible on the Green Line from Park
Street, Boylston and Arlington stations, on the Red Line from Park
Street station, and a short walk from any other downtown
station.

Community Boating. For kids between ages 10
and 18, membership is only $1 for the entire summer.^Although he’d only had to walk across the hall, he seemed to have every other accessory in place.

Membership
includes all sorts of sailing lessons (sailing, windsurfing,
kayaking, etc.) along with other benefits. Each class takes a
couple of days. 2-day membership is $100; 60-day membership is
$159. Accessible on the Red Line from Charles/MGH station.

The Freedom Trail

Freedom Trail. A 2.5 mi. (4 km) walking tour
of 16 historic sites that begins at Boston Common, goes through
downtown Boston, the North End and Charlestown, ending at the USS
Constitution. .Sites include the old State House, Faneuil Hall, Paul
Revere's House, and the Old North Church.^Faneuil Hall is one of the sites on Boston’s Freedom trail :-) .

The Freedom Trail
connects to the Boston Harbor Walk. The Freedom Trail is marked by
a line of red paint or red brick in the sidewalk. The beginning of
the trail is accessible on the Green Line or the Red Line from Park
St station. .However, all the lines are convenient at various points
along the way, via several downtown stations.

Faneuil Hall [51] and Quincy
Market, downtown Boston.^Faneuil Hall is one of the sites on Boston’s Freedom trail :-) .

Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market,
two of Boston's oldest marketplaces, contain a great set of mainly
tourist-oriented shops and eateries. Since Faneuil Hall Marketplace
is private property, the street performers must audition and thus
are consistently entertaining. .Faneuil Hall also has a historic
meeting hall in its upper levels, and is just down the street from
the Old State House.^And just as when he arrived at the house on Chestnut Street, Murdoch found himself tucking Teresa up under his left arm, while extending his right hand to his son.

Quincy Market has a number of food stalls from
local (delectable) providers - coffee, pastries, candy, popcorn,
sushi, Italian, lobster and lobster rolls, Chinese, sandwiches,
etc. No farmers' market, all food is prepared. Great place to eat a
wide variety of foods for cheap, especially with kids. Tables
available in covered outdoor area immediately outside. Accessible
on the Blue Line at State St., Government Center, and Aquarium
stations, on the Orange Line at State St. station, and on the Green
Line at Government Center station.

Hancock Tower, Copley Square

Boston By Foot. 77 North Washington St.,
+1 617-367-2345 [52]. Guided walking tours
highlighting the architecture and history of Boston. .Passionate,
trained and enthusiastic guides offer regular tours May-October of
the Freedom Trail, North End, Beacon Hill and the Back Bay.^As the carriage wound it way through the tree-lined streets of Beacon Hill to the Old West Church, Teresa asked after everyone back at the ranch.

Tours
also available for children. .See web site for details, schedules
and special events.

Copley Square. Take a Duck Tour, +1
617-267-DUCK [53], enjoy the
fountains, visit the top of the nearby Prudential building, see the
Boston Public Library, visit the beautiful Trinity Church, or go
shopping along Newbury Street.^Scott recalled the stir created when British author Charles Dickens had visited Boston after the War, offering public readings of his work while in residence at the Parker House.

^Murdoch had forbidden her to travel so far alone, and Scott never seemed to mind going along, whether it was something important, like taking medicine to the Indians, or just a trip into town to do some shopping.

Accessible on the Green Line at
Copley station, or on the Orange Line at Back Bay station.

Boston Symphony Orchestra. Symphony Hall,
Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Av, [54].
During the fall, winter and spring, the world-renowned Boston
Symphony Orchestra performs classical music. .Tickets are available
online or in the box office; they can be pricey at $29-$115. For a
cheaper alternative, Tuesday and Thursday concerts have rush
tickets (last-minute availability, no seat choice) which are sold
starting at 5PM on the day of the concert for $9; Friday concerts
start rush ticket availability at 10AM. Be sure to line up in
advance for rush tickets.^They had concentrated upon boxing up clothing, shoes and hats, leaving items such as jewelry, pictures and books for Scott to go through.

Boston Pops Orchestra. Symphony Hall, 301
Massachusetts Av, +1 617-266-1492,
CustomerService@bso.org. During the summer, the Pops perform
programs of both classical and popular music, consistently pleasing
audiences. Tickets can be had inexpensively and can be purchased
either online or in the box office. .Accessible on the E branch of
the Green Line at Symphony station.

New England Conservatory. This world-famous
top-notch music school and also right around the corner from the
Boston Symphony, is often overlooked by tourists in Boston but
well-known amongst local musicians.^Those heavy woolen and flannel shirts, as well as the elegant evening attire--the top hat, the gloves, the silk lined vest--all representative of his former life, here in Boston.

Their performances, recitals,
and chamber group concerts are usually free and unticketed. See the
calendar at [55]
for more information.

Theater District. Washington St, Tremont St.
Broadway is the undisputed center of the theater world, but
Boston's Theater District is where most Broadway shows will preview
and is usually the first stop on a show's touring run. .Resident
shows also run.

Bicycling. 20 Park Plaza (Suite 528),
+1 617-542-2453. The Minuteman Bikeway is one of the most
heavily used rail trails in the United States.^The state of Maine claims the title of “Toothpick Capital of the World,” manufacturing 90% of the toothpicks used in the United States.

This eleven mile
paved path is popular with walkers, cyclists, and in-line skaters.
The route closely follows that taken at the beginning of the
Revolutionary War. Accessible on the Red Line at Davis and Alewife
stations.

Urban AdvenTours Bike Tours. Phone:
+1617-233-7595, Fax: +1 617-812-0452. Urban
AdvenTours offers environmentally-friendly and exciting bicycle
tours of Boston - from historic landmarks to quaint neighborhood
streets of Boston and Cambridge - for families, students and
visitors. Ride with us and see Boston the way it was meant to be
seen - on two wheels!

Sam Adams Brewery Tour. Phone +1 30
Germania St. (Orange line to "Stonybrook")617-368-5080. Take a tour
of the Sam Adams brewery located in Jamaica Plan. .Free samples of
beer at the end.

Harpoon Brewery Tour Phone +1
888-HARPOON. (Silver line Waterfront, fourth stop from South
Station) "After taking countless Brewery tours from around the
world, we decided to focus our tours on what we feel is the best
part of any brewery tour - the sampling."^Holmes’ voice pushed them apart, when she came around to the bottom of the narrow staircase to announce that the man had arrived with the wagon to take them to the train station in Bath.

Counter-Productions Theatre Company, [56]. "We are a collaborative group of imaginative
and driven people passionate about Theatre. We create high-quality,
thought-provoking productions in the greater Boston area and
throughout New England.edit

Cape Cod Scenic Tours (Sightseeing Tours), ☎508-394-2221, [57]. seasonal 8AM-9PM. Enjoy a fun Sightseeing Day Tour of Cape Cod.
.We visit Historical areas, Windmills, Lighthouses, Cape Cod Bay,
Cape Cod National Seashore,Harbors, Provincetown, lovely Chatham,
Haynnis, JFK Memorial, and much more.^She loved him so much, and if she could take away those memories, she would do it, she’d do anything.

Mystery Cafe, Boston, ☎781-784-7496, [58]. Dinner. America's
Original Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. .Its doors opened in 1987 to
a packed house in Cambridge, MA and have been selling out the house
ever since!^When they pulled up near the Parker House, Scott called to James to stay up on his box, and opened the carriage door and handed Teresa down himself.

It is a great combination of mystery, music, audience
participation, food and fun. Different shows and locations for a
memorable evening in Boston.$150. edit

AM's Free Boston Tours, [59]. .Free guided walking tours of historic Boston
covering all the main Downtown sites plus some additional sites in
Beacon Hill and the West End.^Scott found that as they drew nearer to Boston, he was becoming more preoccupied with memories of growing up on Beacon Hill.

These tours, which last between 1.5
and 2 hours, are supported only by voluntary tips (gratuities).
.They are a budget-friendly way for everyone to see the sites and
provide for an excellent introduction to the city.^Of course, after spending time in the city, she might be interested in seeing a cattle ranch, Scott; perhaps I’ll send her your way, after a bit?” .

Sports

Boston is a sports town, and its professional teams are
much-loved. .These include the Red Sox (baseball), Celtics
(basketball), Bruins (hockey), New England Patriots (football), and
New England Revolution (soccer).^The site below includes photos of two versions of this motif; the images are of stones in a cemetery in Ohio, but similar examples are commonly seen in New England.

Another professional team, the
Boston Breakers (women's soccer), is less well established.

Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox

Fenway Park, 4 Yawkey Way. The home of the
Boston Red Sox. .The oldest baseball stadium still in use by the
major leagues, this brick and stone structure is named after and
located in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston,
which itself takes its name from the fens, or marshes along the
nearby Muddy River.^Not only had his grandfather brought Scott’s former fiancée along with him, he’d also tried to take Scott away, back to Boston.

Accessible on the B, C, and D branches of the
Green Line at Kenmore station, or on the D branch of the Green Line
at Fenway station. .Visitors arriving via the T will need to walk a
short distance from the station to the ballpark, but the crowds on
a game day will serve to lead the way.^When he arrived home, Scott directed James to go ahead into the carriage house, indicating that he’d get out there and make the short walk to the rear entrance.

.Its worth taking the T to
the game because parking is very limited (and expensive) and you
get to experience the excitment of a crowded train car full of fans
heading to the game.^No dining car until Ogden either, so you’ll be taking your meals off of the train until then.” .

.Yawkey Way is now closed off during games, and
those in the stadium can walk outside to enjoy the additional
refreshment stands and open area, and then return to the game.^He came up to stand very close behind her, and his hand brushing the hair off of her shoulder caused the familiar aching to start again.

.With
sold-out crowds every game, getting tickets is nearly impossible,
however, visitors can take a worthwhile Fenway Park tour on
non-game days or game days (leaves from the souvenir store on
Yawkey Way).

Gillette Stadium. The home of the New England
Patriots football team and the New England Revolution soccer team
is in the town of Foxborough, about 25 miles southwest of
Boston.^And if that did happen, if Johnny was “called out,” he’d made it abundantly clear that Scott was to “stay out of it.” Not difficult to do, Scott thought grimly, if he was thousands of miles away, in Boston.

^In the course of the mid-day meal, they’d discussed Scott and his trip to Boston; Sam hadn’t heard the news about Garrett’s passing and had numerous questions about the impact the event was likely to have on Scott.

The Revolution play from spring to fall, and the Patriots
from fall through winter. Patriot's games are always sold out and
getting tickets will probably be impossible.

TD Garden, Causeway St. The home of the Boston
Celtics basketball team and Boston Bruins hockey team. The site was
previously occupied by the Boston Garden, a smaller venue, and the
existing structure was previously called the Fleet Center and later
the TD Banknorth Garden. The arena may be called by any of these
names, or simply The Garden. Accessible on the Green Line or Orange
Line at North Station, which is underneath the Garden.

Harvard Stadium, 95 N. Harvard St., Allston.
.Home to the Harvard football team since 1903, it is also home to
the area's newest professional team, the Boston Breakers of Women's
Professional Soccer.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

Learn

.The Greater Boston area has over one hundred colleges and
universities, many of which are world-renowned.^Beacon Hill” that’s what Scott had called it, an area of beautiful homes within the city of Boston larger than many of the towns she’d been in.

.The metro Boston
area has something of around 250,000 students living in the area at
any given time.^Scott had thought the feeling was mutual, but the rebuff he’d been given when he’d finally asked Murdoch why he’d never come to Boston had for a time called that into doubt.

Buy

The biggest shopping areas in the inner Metro are the Back Bay
and Downtown Crossing. In addition, there are two large malls in
and near the center of the city.

The Cambridgeside Galleria.This boilerplate
shopping mall includes department stores, a Best Buy, clothing
stores, bookstores, a food court, and a Cheesecake Factory
restaurant, all at mainstream retail prices. Accessible on the
Green Line at Lechmere station, or the Red Line at Kendall/MIT
station via a free shuttle van ("The Wave").

Copley Place and Prudential Center. These
malls are connected via pedestrian walkway over Huntington Av. .They
house department stores, clothing stores, bookstores, upscale
shopping, a food court, many restaurants, and connect to several
large hotels.^Since the hotel and restaurant hadn’t begun operations until after he and Catherine had departed for California, Murdoch had never dined at the Parker House.

Accessible on the Green Line at Copley, Hynes/ICA,
and Prudential stations, and on the Orange Line at Back Bay
station. `Visitors and locals alike use the mall to go between the
South End and Newbury/Boylston Street areas, either to take
advantage of the air conditioning during the summer or the warmth
during the winter.

More local color can be experienced outdoors at any of several
popular commercial areas:

Newbury Street. This shopping street runs the
length of the Back Bay neighborhood. Often called "the Rodeo Drive
of the East," Newbury St is a wonderfully dense avenue colored by
historic brownstones and lots of shops and restaurants. .Extremely
expensive near Boston Common, but gradually becoming more
affordable as you move toward Massachusetts Avenue.^Scott found that as they drew nearer to Boston, he was becoming more preoccupied with memories of growing up on Beacon Hill.

One block north
from Boylston St, which is similar but less so. .Vehicular traffic
can be very slow on Newbury St itself; take parallel streets unless
you have time to see the sights from your car.^It had been one of the very few times that Scott had heard Murdoch utter that phrase “your mother” in reference to himself.

Accessible on the
Green Line from Arlington, Copley, and Hynes stations.

Downtown Crossing, Washington St. at Winter
St. area. This shopping district is in Downtown Boston, just steps
from Boston Common. It is obligatory to visit the world-famous
Filene's Basement. Though this particular location was famous for
actually being an underground store, Filene's Basement closed its
doors in 2007 for a two year renovation project and will relocate
to a nearby space in Downtown Crossing. .The current building, which
once housed the now-closed Filene's Department store, will be
knocked down and rebuilt as a 38-story tower which will include a
hotel and condos.^Once the guests had departed, Scott gave Fredericks directions about which things in his present bedroom should be carried down the hall.

Filene's Basement will be relocated to 426
Washington Street, originally a Barnes and Noble bookstore, until
it reopens in the spring of 2009 at its original location. Bargain
Alley has the distinctive feature of the Automatic Markdown plan -
every week, the items in this area get 25% cheaper, until they are
either sold or donated to charity. Many excellent deals can be
found on merchandise floating down from the larger department store
upstairs. The aisles here are narrow, and the store is usually
busy, so avoid bringing lots of shopping bags in by stopping here
first. The rest of Downtown Crossing features large Macy's and
Borders, music stores, souvenirs, general retail, and lots of
street vendors and quick food. Accessible on the Red and Orange
Lines at Downtown Crossing station, and with a brief walk, from the
Red and Green Lines at Park St. station. Be advised: During
weekdays this area is a very popular hangout for inner-city
youth.

Harvard Square. This historic and
always-active square is located across the river in the city of Cambridge. Take a tour of
Harvard University and the Yard, visit the historic cemetery, shop
around. Several excellent bookstores, with plenty of restaurants
and cafes to sit down and read a novel. See the famous chess tables
outside Au Bon Pain where a scene in Good Will Hunting was filmed.
Walk past the offices of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe, and say hello
to the punks. .Take a short walk down to the scenic Charles River.^When she could no longer continue, she set the needlework aside and announced that she was going to take a short walk.

For a
good burger, stop in a Bartley's, a Harvard landmark. For a
fantastic margarita and cheap Mexican food, be sure to hit up the
Border Cafe. The nonprofit Brattle theater shows classic and
independent films. Accessible on the Red Line at Harvard
station.

Coolidge Corner, Harvard St. at Beacon St,
Brookline. This shopping area is in the neighboring town of Brookline. .A little less
urban, more like your local village shops and restaurants.^He’d decided that he liked his women “a little older”, the phrase more a veiled reference to experience than actual age.

The
Coolidge Corner Theater is known for showing interesting
independent and art house films. Beacon Street has interesting
shops along much of its length, generally concentrated near areas
such as St. Mary's, Washington Sq., etc. One can also walk north
from Coolidge Corner along Harvard St. (which becomes Harvard Av.)
towards Allston-Brighton (and the B branch of the Green Line) for
additional shopping and dining. Accessible on the C branch of the
Green Line at the Coolidge Corner stop.

Charles St.From Beacon St. to Cambridge St.
One of the more quaint shopping neighborhoods in Boston, starting
just north of Boston Common. The mix of shops lends itself to
window-shopping as well as ticking items off a shopping list.
Multiple options for lunch or coffee make this a pleasant place to
stroll for a couple hours. Accessible from the Charles St./Mass.
.General Hospital station on the Red Line.

Wrentham
Village premium outlets. While not in Boston, a shopping
trip to Boston by an international tourist is not complete without
a visit to Wrentham Village.^Then Scott visited the barber, had a beer in the saloon and completed several other errands in between waiting for telegraph responses from Boston.

Its location off I-495, exit 15 makes
it under an hour from Boston and most hotels will arrange
transport. Wrentham’s stores range from the finest designer
fashions and jewelry to home furnishings, housewares and
electronics. You'll find all the big brands such as Hugo Boss,
Adidas, Nike, DKNY, Burberry, Gap, Guess, Ann Taylor, Tommy
Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Levi’s, Liz Claiborne, Swarovski, Royal
Doulton, Calvin Klein, Benetton, Waterford Crystal and much much
more.

Boston is a huge city, so all individual listings should be
moved to the appropriate district articles, and this section should
contain a brief overview. Please help to move listings if you are
familiar with this city.

Boston has excellent seafood from the nearby New England coast.
Local specialties include baked beans, cod, and clam chowder. .For
dessert you'll have no trouble finding good ice cream.^Also, if I may point out, amongst your correspondence you’ll find a telegraph message.

Boston (and
New England as a whole) are one of the top per-capita ice cream
consuming regions.

A variety of excellent ethnic restaurants can be found in
neighborhoods such as the North End, Chinatown, or Coolidge
Corner.

The best sit-down restaurants can be quite crowded in the
evenings on weekends. .Unless you have a reservation, be prepared to
wait anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, depending on how
refined your tastes are.^Teresa and I will join you in a few minutes.” .

.The North
End is full of Italian eateries, and it's certain that you'll
find something here to your liking.^Something simple and straightforward to start with, which of course would need to be revised as your own circumstances change, if you were to marry or have children.

.Take the Green or Orange Lines
to the Haymarket station, follow the pedestrian passageway through
the Big Dig, and then follow the signs to Hanover Street, the main
commercial thoroughfare.^In Portland, they changed to the Maine Central line for the trip to Brunswick, disembarking at a large new train station where the Holmes’ carriage waited to take them across town.

Most of the good restaurants are on this
street or on side streets. .If you visit the North End on the
weekend in the summer you may encounter one of many saint's
festivals.^Well, we sometimes took the train north to visit Aunt Cecilia and her husband at holidays, and in the summer.

Streets are closed off and there are music, food, and
parades of the saint's statues.

The real "Cheers"

The Bull & Finch Pub in Beacon
Hill was inspiration for the hit television show "Cheers." Very
pricey for bar fare, but an essential part of the Boston tourist
experience. .The Beacon Street address is the original and does not
look much like the set of the show.^I am looking forward to showing her the city; I just don’t know how much time I’ll have.

There is another Cheers at
Faneuil Hall which is more of a replica of the TV set. If you ask a
local for directions to Cheers, you may be directed to Faneuil
Hall. The Beacon Street bar is referred to by its original name.
.Both locations are very touristy complete with souvenir shops.^His life experiences, both good and bad, would have been completely different; he could only believe that he himself would have turned out very differently as well.

Legal Sea Foods is a Boston original - well,
technically Cambridge, since it started as a fish market in Inman
Square, Cambridge. Legal Seafood is known for its New England Clam
Chowder. Expect to pay between $25-$30/person at dinner at one of
their multiple locations.

Drink

Boston has a thriving nightlife and is known to be a 'drinking'
town. .There are many different venues that cater to college
students, businesspeople, sports fanatics, and many others.^Clothing wasn’t her only concern, of course, there would be other differences.

.Many tourists look for an authentic "Boston Irish Pub".
A good rule of thumb is if the establishment has a neon shamrock in
the window, it is not an authentic Irish pub.^While the Hayfords were very good company, she and Scott hadn’t had many moments alone together since leaving Boston.

Dive Bars

There are many dive bars in Boston. .One
suggestion is The Other Side on the corner of
Massachusettes Avenue and Newbury Street, if you're a total
hipster.^Pushing the other mail to one side, he could see that it appeared to be from the Boston law firm—Hayford and Son-- that represented his grandfather.

Ask for the "Trois Pistoles" beer from
Quebec for a flavorful, tasty dark beer (9% alc./vol.).

If you are in the North End or near the Banknorth Garden, go to
Sullivan's Tap. Ask for the Brubaker - a $2 beer
in a recycled bottle. ESPN's Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, rated it
"The most depressing bar in Boston."

In Davis Square, Somerville you can find Sligo's
Pub, a similar hole in the wall serving cheap beer in
plastic cups.

If you're off the beaten path in the outer neighborhoods (Hyde
Park, Dorchester, South Boston) in search of some real Bostonians,
look for any tavern with a cheesy old lamp light out front. .Be
ready for an in-depth conversation about the "Red Sawx" or the
Bruins back when Bobby Orr played.^The slender thread of conversation frayed, but before it snapped Murdoch caught it back up again, spinning a query about the identities of the other speakers.

The commercials should really be
"Boston runs on Dunkin." Every Bostonian knows that "Dunks" is for
coffee, not donuts - trust us. But quality and service at a Dunkin'
Donuts is really hit or miss depending on the location. Au Bon
Pain's 200 stores began in Boston and are also common. Starbucks
are, of course, plentiful. Boston does, however, have some
outstanding independent coffee shops as well.

Sleep

All hotels are listed in the individual district articles.

Contact

Greater Boston uses 10-digit dialing. This
means you need to include the area code whenever you are making a
call. The standard area code is 617, but some phone numbers,
especially cell phones, use the new 857 overlay.

Stay safe

Crime and other hazards in Boston are low for a major American
city.

Some neighborhoods (Roxbury, Mattapan, and some parts of
Dorchester and Jamaica Plain) are more dangerous than average, and
extra care should be taken. Avoid walking in these areas at night
if possible. Also avoid public parks after dark (unless there's a
special event), especially the Fens (known as an extremely popular
"cruising" spot for homosexual men who often engage in sexual acts
in the park itself).

Dangers related to alcohol consumption are not uncommon, such as
fights and drunk driving. Be especially careful when there is a Red
Sox vs NY Yankees baseball game in progress. Don't wear Yankees
gear in the Kenmore Square/Fenway districts.

.Care should be taken as well if you decide to go clubbing on
Landsdowne St., the Theatre District, Chinatown, or Faneuil Hall.^Well, I can hardly let you go back there without me, now can I?” .

.As mentioned above, the more dangerous parts of Boston are
generally not visited or even seen by tourists, but there are a few
mildly dangerous locales that you should be aware of if you plan on
enjoying Boston's nightlife.^There were only a few more lines.

In Kenmore Square, be especially
careful on Landsdowne St. as muggers and pickpockets are becoming
more common, waiting in the darker areas near Ipswitch St. at the
end of the strip. Don't wear any kind of flashy jewelry that would
attract attention and keep designer labels out of sight as much as
possible, as assailants usually determine who to target based on
the way they are dressed. In Chinatown, be very careful if you
wander off of Kneeland St. There are a plethora of little alleyways
and inlets where muggers operate. Faneuil Hall is generally safe,
but not without its share of fights and petty robberies. .Keep an
eye on your stuff and don't get involved with strangers, especially
if they've been drinking.^Scott raised his drink to his lips, while keeping his solemn eyes trained on his father.

The safest place to have a night on the
town in Boston is definitely Boylston St. in the Back Bay, around
the Prudential Center area. There are plenty of bars, pubs, clubs,
and restaurants that cater to the college, professional, and
upscale crowd, greatly reducing the likelihood of crime. Also this
area is within short walking distance from most of the major hotels
in the city. .All this being said Boston is a reasonably safe city
known more for its schools and history than crime; petty or
otherwise.^Despite having eagerly anticipated arriving in Boston, despite his absolute joy at the thought of being in familiar, comfortable and safe surroundings once more, Scott had suddenly been reluctant to leave the confines of the railroad car.

Pedestrians
should use crosswalks and exercise considerable caution when
crossing streets. Assume the drivers are *trying* to hit you.

Boston's subway system, the MBTA, is generally safe compared to
other major cities. Green Line trains are most used by college
students and young professionals moving to and from the immediate
suburbs. However, it is advised to avoid unnecessary travel on the
Red Line late at night, especially if you are alone. While this
line serves Cambridge and Harvard University, it also attracts
questionable individuals from the South Boston neighborhoods it
also services.

For emergency dial 911 from any telephone for
police, medical, and fire services.

Get out

Take a ferry from the harbor in the summer or one of several
daily Cape Air flights from Logan year-round to Provincetown (also
known as P-town) to see some of the best entertainment and fun on
Cape Cod.

A popular road trip is "Boston to the Bronx". The Drive is
approximately 3.5 hours along US-20. Minimum suggested time for the
return trip is 2 days.

Drive south or take the $7.75 commuter rail
[87] or $17 express Amtrak to Providence, Rhode Island, which is home to its own
share of art and culture, excellent Italian food, and a charming
downtown area.

^In the course of the mid-day meal, they’d discussed Scott and his trip to Boston; Sam hadn’t heard the news about Garrett’s passing and had numerous questions about the impact the event was likely to have on Scott.

.All are easily
accessible by car, and less than a 90 minute drive without the
awful Cape Cod traffic in the summer months.^Murdoch didn’t say anything about the less than warm welcome he had extended to his sons, nothing at all about how he’d actually felt that first day.

Drive northwest on Route 2 or take the Fitchburg commuter rail
[89] to historic Concord, where you can visit
Walden Pond, made famous by Henry David Thoreau in his book
"Walden; or, Life in the Woods".

Take a day trip north to the town of Salem, the home of the infamous
Salem witch trials.

This is a usable article. It has
information for getting in as well as some complete entries for
restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this
article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!